Had my first visit to a local Chevy dealer a couple of weeks ago to look at a Bolt and was mostly pleased. The largest problem was not seeing a CHAdeMO plug. I understand that Chevy said charging would be available using one and that it would also be available at Tesla Superchargers. That has since been shown to be false. The dealer had no one who knew what I was talking about. I got an offer through email with no information about quick charging. Sent a reply asking again about quick charge. No reply. What is going on?
Charging away from home
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The charging options out there can be confusing. The Bolt comes with a Level I EVSE for 110/120V charging at 8 or 12 amps but most Bolt owners will want to use Level II charging at up to 32 amps when charging at home. For faster charging when on the road the Bolt can be ordered with Level III combined charging system (CCS) DC Fast Charging as a $750 option, then you can charge at up to 80kw rate for up to 90 miles EV range for 30 minutes of CCS charging. Commercial DC Fast Charging stations are not yet as widely available as Level II charging stations. Many early Level III charging stations were 25kw, most are limited to 50kw. In the future there will likely be 100kw and 125kw Level III charging stations. Earlier DC Fast Charging installations were equipped with the CHAdeMO vehicle connector used by Nissan with the Leaf, some other EVs. These early DC Fast Charging stations are in some cases being upgraded to also include a CCS connector (the upgraded Level III charger will have one CHAdeMO connector and one CCS connector.) Tesla has their own Destination Chargers and also the Tesla SuperCharger Network. Tesla Destination chargers are typically found at resorts, hotels, etc. for recharging Tesla Vehicles. The Bolt can use a Tesla Destination Charger if the Tesla Destination Charger has a J1772 connector in addition to a Tesla connector, else the Bolt can be charged with the Tesla connector using a suitable adapter. Tesla's SuperChargers are located on or near interstate highway interchanges. The Bolt cannot currently connect to Tesla's SuperCharger network nor has Tesla announced plans for other than Tesla's vehicles to be able to do so.
The Plugshare web site and app provides information on Level II and High Power (Level III) charging stations: https://www.plugshare.com/
The following article explains some of the source of the confusion regarding the Chevrolet Bolt charging options: https://electrek.co/2016/12/06/tesla-supercharger-chevy-bolt-ev-chargingpoint/
^ Excellent summary. I will just add that for Tesla destination chargers, I believe it is typical for them to have one Tesla cord and one J1772 cord available (compatible with the Bolt), so you can potentially use those locations without even an adapter.
Thanks. I have never seen a Tesla Destination Charger close up. Now that Tesla is investing in building out their SuperCharger network I wonder if the Tesla Destination Chargers are largely OBE.
Yup. And they definitely never said anything about Tesla Supercharger access.
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I'm not sure what you're expecting to be "resolved". If you buy a Bolt with the quick charge option it will charge from any station that is J1772 or CCS compatible. It will not charge from a CHAdeMO charging station unless that station also provides a J1772 or CCS plug. That is not going to change - GM is not going to offer CHAdeMO charging on the Bolt in the future.
I think he is hoping to be able to use the Tesla Supercharger network to charge a Chevrolet Bolt.
If so, he will be waiting for a very long time.
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Yeah, I think if he wants to do that then the best bet is to just buy a Tesla.
Bob,
The charging standard on the Bolt uses the North American Standard set by the SAE. This is used by GM, BMW, etc and the number of chargers will only increase since this is the standard. CHADEMO is the Japanese standard, so it makes no sense to buy a new car with it in America. Tesla uses their own proprietary standard. Hopefully they will switch to the standard and provide adapters for their "older" proprietary connectors. Hence there is no need to wait. I'm personally very hesitant to buy a car that isn't standards compliant.
Sales people also. I've never owned or have driven an EV before and I knew more than the sales person who drove along with me. He didn't know much about charging and the different standards. He also didn't know about 1 pedal driving. I amazed him by only using the brake once (when backing up).
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I'm not aware that Maine has any CCS chargers at present. What I'm looking for is assurance that, if I buy a Bolt there will be enough quick chargers available so that I can drive moderately long trips. There are many CHAdeMO chargers in my area so that would be fine. I suspect that CCS will be available, but when? The local Chevy dealer has none and the one I'm working with has only L2.
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Several Hannafords have EVgo CCS and CHAdeMO chargers:
Plugshare lists the following:
Augusta
Topsham
Portland
South Portland
York.
Maine has a few. The northern end of the state is a bit sparse, but you could always cross over to Canada if you were that desperate.
Bob,
This is a good resource to see the current chargers in your area. As noted before, CCS is the North American standard. The number of chargers will increase.
https://www.afdc.energy.gov/locator/stations/
This is a good resource to see the current chargers in your area. As noted before, CCS is the North American standard. The number of chargers will increase.
https://www.afdc.energy.gov/locator/stations/
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310 Posts
I think you are confusing GM's marketing slogan regarding the Bolt EV's fast charging with it actual capability.
There is no 90 mile limit of EV range for fast charging on the Bolt EV. If you have the time, you can charge a depleted Bolt EV all the way to 80% (approx 200 miles) or even more!
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