How to choose an EV charging cable?

EV charging cables connect to the chargepoint socket on one side and to the vehicle socket on the other side.

If you need a charging cable, then you will want one with a Type 2 connector. The process for selecting a public cable goes as follows:

1. Pick the right connector for your car - Check whether your car is Type 1 or Type 2 using our car guides. You will always want a universal Type 2 charger plug connector.
2. Choose an appropriate length cable - We recommend 7.5m as a good compromise between ease of use and ease of storage, but you can get shorter cables (easier to store), or longer cables (offer more reach).
3. Pick a suitable current rating for your car - You at least want one that matches your max AC charge rate (16A = ~3.6kW, 32A = ~7kW for single phase), but getting a higher rated cable means you would be able to charge another car at the higher rate, so may be more future proofed.

When will you need a separate charging cable?

You'll need to use a charging cable if you want to charge from a chargepoint (or socket) that doesn't have a cable attached. Typically this will be when using AC chargepoints on public networks or home chargers that have universal sockets.

While you will generally get a lot of use out of a charging cable, in some situations it won’t be required because the chargepoint will already have a cable attached.

For example, you can choose to get a tethered chargepoint installed at home while rapid chargers, and a handful of public AC units, also have tethered cables attached.

If you need some more help choosing your charging cable, take a look at our blog for extra tips and examples.

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