Citroen e-Dispatch EV Charging Cable

The socket is at the front, which changes the maths

Charging happens from the nearside front three quarter panel, just behind the front wheel and in front of the sliding door. For a vehicle of five metres or more, having the socket at the front rather than the back takes a whole size of cable off the requirement.

For a working van this is the detail that saves money. A five metre vehicle with a rear socket needs ten or fifteen metres of cable on most yards and driveways. With the inlet ahead of the sliding door, a driver who noses into the space can often manage on five metres, and the lead is out of the way of the load doors while it is plugged in.

Two batteries and two charge times

The 50 kWh van is quoted at up to 148 miles and the 75 kWh at 211 miles when it launched, revised to 219 on the current price guide and 221 on Citroen's website. The larger pack is 75 kWh gross and 69 kWh usable by Citroen's own statement; the smaller one is 50 kWh gross with no published usable figure, though the identical pack in the e-SpaceTourer is recorded at 46.3 kWh.

Citroen publishes full charge times for both. The 75 kWh van takes 36 hours 45 minutes from a domestic plug, 11 hours 20 minutes on a 7.4 kW single phase wall box, or seven and a half hours on an 11 kW three phase one, with 45 minutes to eighty per cent on a 100 kW rapid. The 50 kWh van is seven and a half hours single phase and four hours 45 three phase. Note which of those applies to you.

The three phase option, and Citroen's own warning about it

Two chargers are offered: 7.4 kW single phase as standard, and 11 kW three phase at extra cost. The upgrade is worth having where three phase power exists and worth nothing at all where it does not, which on a driveway is almost always the case.

Unusually, the manufacturer says the quiet part out loud. Citroen's own van price list states that on a single phase supply the optional 11 kW three phase charger will charge the vehicle more slowly than the standard 7.4 kW single phase one. We have not seen another maker put it that plainly.

There is a small inconsistency in Citroen's material worth flagging. The 2023 price list lists the 11 kW charger as a 400 pound option while the current model page says the van "is equipped with a 11kw onboard charger". Whichever your van has, the answer at a depot or a house on a single phase supply is 7.4 kW and a 32A cable. No cable can lift that figure: the onboard charger decides it.

How long a full charge takes

Hours come from dividing the pack by the power the car actually draws, with 13 per cent added for losses. Range added per hour assumes a year round 3.5 miles per kWh rather than a best case figure. Columns are the 50 kWh van at 46.3 kWh usable and the 75 kWh at 69. Our figures line up closely with Citroen's own published times, which is a useful check on the method.

For a van that runs six days a week the overnight charge is the whole operation. Eleven hours on the larger pack from genuinely empty means a van that comes back at six in the evening is full by morning, and the battery warranty runs to eight years or 100,000 miles at seventy per cent capacity.

Which length for an e-Dispatch

Five metres is a realistic choice here, which is unusual advice for a commercial vehicle, and it is entirely because of where Citroen put the socket. Buy it where the van parks nose in with the charge point on its left.

Ten metres covers the yard where vans park wherever there is space, the charge point on the offside, and the reversed-in van. Fifteen suits a shared charge point serving several bays. Park the car where it normally lives, walk the run with a tape, and buy the next size up from what you measure.

How these cables are built

Made to IEC 62196-2, CE marked, and rated IP55 from -30C to +50C so it lives outdoors all year.

Three pin leads are made to IEC 62752, CE marked and IP67 sealed, with a -30C to +60C specification. Two year warranty from the manufacturer, free next day delivery in the UK, 30 day returns.

Looking at another Citroen? Start with the Citroen C-Zero EV Charging Cable, or browse every model in Citroen charging cables. For a wall box or public post the lead is the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable.

Citroen e-Dispatch charging cable questions

Where is the charge socket on an e-Dispatch?

Nearside front three quarter panel, near the front wheel and ahead of the sliding door. It is much further forward than most people expect on a van this size.

What cable does an e-Dispatch need?

A 32A single phase Type 2 to Type 2 cable. Five metres often reaches thanks to the front socket, though ten is safer for a shared yard.

How long does it take to charge?

Citroen quotes 11 hours 20 minutes for the 75 kWh van and seven and a half hours for the 50 kWh, both on a 7.4 kW single phase wall box. A rapid charger does eighty per cent in 45 minutes.

Is the 11 kW charger worth paying for?

Only where three phase power is available. Citroen itself warns in the van price list that on a single phase supply the three phase charger charges more slowly than the standard one.