Fast-charging cable pricing
Which plug-in makers supply leads, and which force you to pay?
AS electric cars and plug-in hybrids become more popular, we regularly hear reports from customers surprised that cables for plugging into fast-charge points aren’t supplied as standard.
Surprise can turn to shock if the salesperson at the dealership offers a fast-charge cable as an optional extra, and quotes prices of up to £450. Worse still, these prices are sometimes backed by the dubious claim that buying a cheaper cable elsewhere might somehow invalidate an electric or plug-in hybrid car’s warranty.
Manufacturers almost universally supply new EVS with the slow-charging cable required to plug into a standard domestic supply. Indeed, this cable is the most complex and expensive variety, because it typically has to include a box with an ‘intelligent’ battery charger built in.
In contrast, the accessory cables designed to connect your car to fast chargers – whether in a supermarket car park, at work or a unit you’ve had installed at home in your garage – only have to carry the power distributed by the charger. Many manufacturers do now include these additional fast-charging cables as a standard accessory, and our research suggests you should get one already ‘priced in’ with EVS and plug-in hybrids purchased new from Audi, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Mercedes, Nissan, MINI, Renault, Toyota and Volkswagen.
But if you buy an electric or plug-in vehicle from manufacturers including BMW, Mitsubishi, Range Rover, Peugeot, Porsche or Volvo, you could be hit with prices for fast-charge cables that could be as high as £453 in the case of the Peugeot ion, £310 for the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV or £300 for a plug-in from Porsche. It’s £230 for Range Rover models, while BMW cables average £150 and Volvo cables are more modestly priced, at around £50.
These are all significant sums, and to be fair there’s definitely a bit more to the average fast-charging cable than the £5.99 domestic extension lead you might pick up in your local DIY store.
Compared with that domestic flex featuring three-strand 2.5mm wires and cheap 13-amp three-pin plugs, EV fast-charge cables require five strands of expensive 6mm core wire, two socalled ‘pilot wires’ for communication between the EV and the charger, plus a rugged 32-amp charge plug and inlet complete with amperage recognition, resistors and a locking mechanism.
Even so, these cables all do the same job as generic aftermarket accessory items, whether they’re supplied free of charge or cost £450 at a main dealer. So if your plug-in EV or hybrid doesn’t come with a fast-charge cable included, our advice is simple: shop around.
We tried Evonestop.co.uk, an online retailer which claims 70 per cent of the UK market for fast-charging cables, and found a cable suitable for the Peugeot ION for just £125 – a saving of £325 against the Peugeot list price.
“Our customers tell us cables can be expensive to purchase through dealers, and it makes sense to research the options,” said EV Onestop managing director Bianca Orrey. “No EV maker manufactures its own cables as they tend to outsource this accessory. So as long as the cable you purchase complies with the correct IEC 62196 standard, your warranty will be unaffected.”
As always, it also pays to negotiate with your dealer. “A fast-charging cable is not standard equipment with the i3 and i8 because of the additional weight impact for homologation,” said a spokesman for BMW. “The reality is, retailers have the discretion to add such accessories for free post-sale, which is something they are doing currently.”
“Our customers tell us that cables can be expensive to purchase through dealers, and it makes sense to research the options” BIANCA ORREY EV Onestop managing director