As specified by
IEC 62196,
cars are fitted with a standardized male
vehicle inlet, whilst
charging stations are fitted with a female
socket outlet, either directly on the outside of the charging station, or via a
flexible cable with permanently attached
connector on the end. When the charging station is equipped with a permanently fixed cable, the
connector end of the cable can be attached directly into the
vehicle inlet, similar to using a
petrol pump and when no fixed cable is available, a separate male-to-female cable is used to connect the vehicle, either using the charging station, or from a traditional
IEC 60309-2 industrial connector. The Type 2 connector system was originally proposed by
Mennekes in 2009 leading to the colloquial name of
Mennekes. The system was later tested and standardized by the
German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) as
VDE-AR-E 2623-2-2, and subsequently recommended by the
European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) in 2011. , Type 2 is intended to replace the previous vehicle connectors used for AC charging within the European
electric vehicle network, displacing both Type 1 (
SAE J1772) and Type 3 (EV Plug Alliance Types 3A and 3C; colloquially,
Scame) connectors. For DC charging, the
Combo 2 socket (Type 2 supplemented with 2 DC pins) shall become standard in cars, replacing Type 4
CHAdeMO. The transition period is scheduled to last until 2020. The IEC 62196 Type 2 connector is used in a slightly modified form for all European
Tesla Model S and
Model X vehicles, and the European
Tesla Supercharger network. As of 2017 Tesla is the only automaker which offers charging with
alternating current and
direct current based on the
IEC 62196-2 specification. For charging with direct current the specification IEC 62196-3
Combined Charging System (CCS) is favored in Europe.
Pins (DC-Low & DC-Mid was withdraw)|left The connectors contain seven contact places: two small and five larger. The top row consists of two small contacts for signaling, the middle row contains three pins, the center pin is used for Earthing, while the outer two pins used for the power supply, optionally in conjunction with the two pins on the bottom row which are also for power supply. Three pins are always used for the same purposes: • Proximity pilot (PP): pre-insertion signaling • Control pilot (CP): post-insertion signaling • Protective earth (PE): full-current protective
earthing system— diameter The allocation of the four normal power supply pins vary depending on the mode of operation. They are allocated as: Some vehicle inlets may contain the extra connections to allow the
CCS DC-only charger (high-current DC) to be inserted. Communication takes place over the CP/PP signaling pins between the charger, cable, and vehicle to ensure that the highest common denominator of voltage and current is selected. The signaling protocol is identical to that of Type 1 connectors as described in the
SAE J1772 standard. ==Gallery==