Most EVs from China such as the BYD Dolphin, BYD Atto 3, GWM Ora Good Cat and the Neta V come with a single-phase onboard charger and as a result, your charging speed on AC is not as fast as other mainstream brands which come with a three-phase onboard charger. — Pictures by SoyaCincaucome with a single-phase onboard charger and as a result, your charging speed on AC is not as fast as other mainstream brands which come with a three-phase onboard charger.
On paper, these EVs from China should support up to 7kW when plugged into an AC charge point. However, you might get a slower 3kW charging rate on a charger that’s labelled as 11kW. So what’s going on? Is the charge point operating ripping you off? Here’s what you need to know about charging an EV with a single-phase onboard charger and how to get the best charging experience.On EVs such as the BYD Dolphin, BYD Atto 3, GWM Ora Good Cat, Neta V and even the 2nd gen Nissan Leaf, they can only get up to 7kW for AC charging. When the vehicle is plugged into anas shown on the label above.
To summarise, if you want to get the maximum 7kW AC charging speed for your BYD Dolphin, Atto 3 and Ora Good Cat, look for AC charge points that offerYou can still charge at an 11kW charge point but it will take twice the amount of time to get your desired amount of charge. It won’t be an issue if you’re going to charge it overnight or if the public charger is priced based on kWh consumed.
You can think of it like a scenario of filling up a theatre hall. It is faster to fill the seats when the hall is empty but it gets harder and slower to fill up the remaining seats when the hall is becoming full.. So instead of waiting for that extra 26 minutes, it is better to just stop charging at 80% and continue on with your journey until you require another EV charging top-up. Unless of course, your EV has a small battery and you really need the full range to reach your destination.