German OEMs pick one electrical charging connector to rule them all
Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Audi , BMW , Mercedes Benz , MINI , Porsche , SMART , Volkswagen , Legislation and Policy , Europe/EU , Daimler One massive sticking point with electric cars is the lack of standards when it comes to plugging in the vehicle. In the 90s, the General Motors EV1 didn't use the same kind of plug as the Toyota RAV4 EV , and that meant electric vehicle charging stations had to keep multiple adapters on hand if they wanted to service to multiple machinery. If there's any hope that EVs will take off in popularity over the next few decades, some standardization is in order. To that end, German manufacturers Audi , BMW , Daimler ( Mercedes-Benz and Smart ), Porsche and Volkswagen have banded together banded together in support of a modular connector system for electric vehicle charging. The consortium's connector system has been submitted for standardization under the designation IEC 62196-2 Type 2 for single- and three-phase charging with alternating c...