High Speed Charger Network - 400v or 800v
Discussion
Afternoon all
Does anyone know if typical motorway rapid chargers are 400v or 800 v architecture? As I'm struggling to confirm.
I’m just about to order a New Mercedes CLA and as standard they can only DC charge on 800v chargers.
The ability to use 400v DC chargers is a £800 option.
Cheers all.
Does anyone know if typical motorway rapid chargers are 400v or 800 v architecture? As I'm struggling to confirm.
I’m just about to order a New Mercedes CLA and as standard they can only DC charge on 800v chargers.
The ability to use 400v DC chargers is a £800 option.
Cheers all.
Many thanks for the comments.
Looks like I'd need to cancel.
Although I don't charge in the wild that frequently, this sounds like a pain.
There's not a filter on Zap Map for 400/800, and charger networks don't seem to state the voltage.
The Merc sat nav will direct you to 800v chargers only, but it sounds sketchy.
Looks like I'd need to cancel.
Although I don't charge in the wild that frequently, this sounds like a pain.
There's not a filter on Zap Map for 400/800, and charger networks don't seem to state the voltage.
The Merc sat nav will direct you to 800v chargers only, but it sounds sketchy.
Benbay001 said:
a car with 800v architecture will still be able to charge at 400v, yet be future proofed
Not in this case. Mercedes to charge customers if they want their electric cars to be compatible with most common rapid chargers in UK
It seems the Tesla Superchargers are still 400V.
General advice to EV owners is to prefer those Tesla sites open to them, because they tend to be working, have quite a lot of charging stalls, be reasonably located, and the cheapest option.
Therefore I'd tend to agree that an 800V only car would be sub-optimal.
Additionally, if you're buying outright, I can easily see that next year's CLAs onwards end up all coming with 400V compatibility, and the 800V-only cars might be eschewed by secondhand buyers. Not your issue if it's a lease, obviously.
IONITY are all 800v. It is not an easy thing to find out though, e.g. you can't search for it in the Electroverse app.
I don't really mind it, but it is more complexity for users new to EV to understand. I avoid 400v in our Ioniq 5 as you only get like 80kW compared to 220kW+ on 800v.
I don't really mind it, but it is more complexity for users new to EV to understand. I avoid 400v in our Ioniq 5 as you only get like 80kW compared to 220kW+ on 800v.
Edited by LayZ on Tuesday 8th September 17:09
JonnyVTEC said:
CCS is limited to around 500A. So basically anything over 200kW is likely to be 800V as a rule of thumb.
Ignore Tesla, they have their own take of CCS with a higher peak and temp monitoring at the socket.
This. Anything non Tesla claiming over 200kW will be 800V.Ignore Tesla, they have their own take of CCS with a higher peak and temp monitoring at the socket.
Tesla are the only network that is 400V only.
Biggest risk is older 50kW units as these are likely to be 400V only.
If you're sticking to recent installations you'll be fine.
Dusty old 50kW charger in the corner of a car park or the old electric highway motorway ones and you might have issues.
There will be a data plate visible on the charger that will state voltage and current. Not much use when you've already stopped needing a charge though!
Edited by blank on Tuesday 8th September 19:44
I just sucked up the 400v optional extra when I purchased my CLA. I like the car, range is good and the price of the whole package was very competitive even with the 400v extra. I just wanted the added safety of charging anywhere I needed.
Public charging, for price iv used Tesla off peak before 8am and having the 400v option it works fine. I have also used a 50w charger as a bit of a test and it works. So far I have not needed a superfast 800v charger and it seems a bit of an oversight from Merc but I have public charged at the cheapest possible rates.
Public charging, for price iv used Tesla off peak before 8am and having the 400v option it works fine. I have also used a 50w charger as a bit of a test and it works. So far I have not needed a superfast 800v charger and it seems a bit of an oversight from Merc but I have public charged at the cheapest possible rates.
Familymad said:
Vast majority 400v
It s an industry laughing stock to have launched that car in the UK with only 800v fitted.
Indeed. I honestly don't know how people still end up buying the things - it's surely impossible to google research anything much about the car without almost immediately stumbling upon complaints about the 800v only charging. It's the talking point of the car.It s an industry laughing stock to have launched that car in the UK with only 800v fitted.
Such a weird decision by Mercedes
Here's another brilliant Merc brainwave: I took delivery of a new GLC today, it DOES have 800v/400v charging, but it's impossible to set charge windows in the app whilst home charging. Ironically, in the CLA, you can set a charge window! Same app, different options. Go figure.
TheDeuce said:
Familymad said:
Vast majority 400v
It s an industry laughing stock to have launched that car in the UK with only 800v fitted.
Indeed. I honestly don't know how people still end up buying the things - it's surely impossible to google research anything much about the car without almost immediately stumbling upon complaints about the 800v only charging. It's the talking point of the car.It s an industry laughing stock to have launched that car in the UK with only 800v fitted.
Such a weird decision by Mercedes
Living in continental Europe, I can (sort of) understand the rationale as (also) a weight- and complexity-saving approach. Of course, selling 400V support as an extra has revenue potential, too.
The only place I've been where the lack of 400V support would be an issue is Northeast Croatia (on the way to Bosnia). Ours can use 400V chargers, but limited to about 100kW - I don't recall this being an issue with 100+ (but sub 200) kW chargers I've used.
800V charging discussion on this youtube video. It's about a Chevy Silverado and the bit about battery charging starts around 17mins in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4T9p-Iks6Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4T9p-Iks6Q
That is honestly mind blowing it is an optional extra to charge for. I would slightly understand the other way around, but even then just include it in the car cost.
Imagine if they released cars that could only be used on 98+ but the common 95+ needed a paid for remap so it was compatible with both.
Imagine if they released cars that could only be used on 98+ but the common 95+ needed a paid for remap so it was compatible with both.
fooman said:
Yes it's pretty poor form by Mercedes, you can't even retro fit if you realise you've bought the wrong car.
It reminds me of my mate's Boxster Spyder that he rightfully assumed came with bluetooth streaming, as you would in an £80k car even if it is a 2016. Nope - it was an optional extra the first owner did not tick. I believe it connects for calls but you cannot play any music through it. He is banking on it reaching classic status and being able to retrofit Carplay/Android Auto officially as they are working through the models.Edited by Goatwidcoat on Wednesday 9th September 09:11
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