Vauxhall Vivaro-e EV Charging Cable

The socket is at the front, and on a van that length it matters

The socket is set into the nearside front three quarter panel near the wheel, not at the rear as the shape of the vehicle might lead you to expect. Park nose first with the charge point on your left and the run is surprisingly short.

Zapmap confirms it: the CCS inlet is found on the near side front three quarter panel near the front wheel. EV Database records left side front for both the 50 kWh and the 75 kWh vans, and we found no documented difference between battery sizes or body lengths. It is the same arrangement as the Citroen e-Dispatch, Peugeot e-Expert and Toyota Proace Electric, which share the platform.

A genuinely single phase charger as standard

Vauxhall states it on its own van pages: "The on-board 7.4kW and optional 11kW chargers will power up the Vivaro Electric overnight". This is the exception in the Vauxhall electric range, where the passenger cars get 11 kW three phase as standard.

The consequence is good news at home. A 7.4 kW single phase charger takes everything a British 32 amp charge point can give, with nothing lost to an absent second and third phase. And if the optional 11 kW unit was specified, it also gives 7.4 kW at a house, so the option makes no difference on a driveway or in most depots.

One thing to watch at public posts

Because the standard charger is single phase, a public post wired as three phase 16 amps hands it one of those phases and therefore 3.7 kW. On a 75 kWh van that is around twenty two hours, which is not a useful charge. It is the charge point rather than the van, and it is exactly the problem the optional 11 kW charger fixes.

For a fleet that does its charging on a depot single phase supply, the option is money saved. For one that relies on three phase destination posts, it is money well spent.

Two batteries and the ranges that go with them

The 50 kWh van is 46.3 kWh usable with 143 miles WLTP. The 75 kWh van is 69 usable and was quoted at 205 miles, raised to 217 for 2024 with no change to the pack. The Vivaro Life passenger versions are quoted at 209 to 218 miles. Rapid charging is 100 kW claimed on both, nought to eighty per cent in about half an hour on the 50 kWh van and forty to forty five minutes on the 75.

How long a full charge takes

The calculation is the battery over the delivered kW, uplifted 13 per cent for charging losses, quarter hour rounded. The range column is deliberately cautious, at 3.5 miles per kWh. Worked from usable capacities for both vans.

Eleven hours for the 75 kWh van from empty is a long night but a workable one on an overnight depot charge. The 50 kWh van at seven and a half hours is comfortable.

Which length for a Vivaro-e

This is where the front socket pays off. The van is 4.96 metres in L1 form and 5.31 in L2, and on a rear socket vehicle of that size ten or fifteen metres would be the usual answer. With the inlet ahead of the sliding door, nosing into a bay puts it within a couple of metres of a wall box and five metres often covers it.

Park the car where it normally lives, walk the run with a tape, and buy the next size up from what you measure. For a depot where vans reverse into bays, plan on ten metres, because then the socket is at the far end from the charge point.

How these cables are built

It is made to IEC 62196-2, CE marked, and sealed to IP55 across a -30C to +50C temperature range.

On the three pin side the standard is IEC 62752, with CE marking, IP67 sealing and a -30C to +60C range. Two year manufacturer's warranty, free next working day UK delivery and 30 days to send it back.

Related: Vauxhall Ampera EV Charging Cable, and Vauxhall charging cables for every other model we cover. For a wall box or public post the lead is the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable.

Vauxhall Vivaro-e charging cable questions

Where is the charging socket on a Vivaro-e?

Nearside front three quarter panel, by the front wheel and ahead of the sliding door. Not at the rear, which is what most people assume on a van.

Does it get the full 7.4 kW at home?

Yes. The standard charger is single phase, so a British 32 amp charge point supplies all of it.

Is the optional 11 kW charger worth having?

Not for home or single phase depot charging, where both give 7.4 kW. It is worth it if you rely on three phase public posts, where the single phase van only gets 3.7 kW.

What cable length do I need?

Five metres often works if you nose in, thanks to the front socket. Ten metres for a depot where vans reverse into bays.