Chinese EVs use GB/T, a different charging protocol from those currently in use in Canada. Without regulation, we risk repeating Mexico’s costly interoperability mistakes, says James Carter

Electric vehicles continue to grow in popularity around the world, including in North America. When it comes to our vehicle charging protocols, the U.S. and Canada have two main types: the Combined Charging System Type 1 (CCS1), which uses the J1772 connector for AC charging, and Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS – J3400). (A third type, Japan’s CHAdeMO standard, is slowly being phased out.) In the last three years, since Tesla published the specifications of its proprietary NACS as an open standard – and along with it access to its Supercharger network, automakers (also known as original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs) have been moving from the CCS1 standard to NACS to promote easy interoperability. 

Here “interoperability” is the key word.  In a world of gas cars, it’s this standard that ensures that the gas filler hole on every car matches the outlet on every pump, and it’s what we must strive for with EVs.

Canada does not have an official law when it comes to charging standards; the charging standard used has been determined purely by the market and OEMs. But many Chinese EVs use a charging protocol called GB/T, different from what we see here. And with Chinese EVs now theoretically able to come to Canada in the near future, the government needs to make a decision on charging standards, and soon. We need to set into law a limit for allowable charging protocols for all future vehicles sold here, to avoid cost and confusion for both charging networks and EV owners alike. Those should be CCS1 and NACS only.

Observations in Mexico 

Chinese vehicles are popular in Mexico, making up almost 20 per cent of the country’s new EV sales. Late last month, I traveled to Mexico City to see and drive Chinese vehicles, as well as to meet with six Chinese OEM representatives in person. As a whole, their vehicles are well positioned compared with their equivalents on the Canadian market in terms of spec, build quality and price.

However, with a lack of regulation in Mexico, charging types have become a free-for-all. Chinese OEMs have brought over the GB/T charging standard and the European CCS Type 2 (CCS2). This means the number of major charging standards has gone from two to four, creating a huge customer experience headache. EV owners find it difficult to know where they can charge their vehicles. There is no consistency in charging standards even among the same brand. Charging networks are forced to use chargers with multiple cables, at added cost. What’s more, poor quality chargers and adapters have created fire risks.

It’s contrary to the goal of interoperability, and it’s a complete mess.

In my conversations, the Chinese OEM representatives consistently asked whether NACS/CCS1 was “law” or “optional” in Canada, suggesting they are looking to avoid development and equipment costs by introducing GB/T or CCS2, as they have done in Mexico. This has the potential to create the same kind of problems in Canada that Mexico is now experiencing, and we must avoid that at all costs.

A mandate for certainty

The European Union has already mandated Type 2 connectors for AC power and CCS2 for DC fast charging, as far back as 2018. Even Tesla was forced to switch its cars to the European standard, broad network and vehicle interoperability.

And we need to do something similar here. The Canadian government should bring into law an official charging standard for all new light-duty vehicles. With both electric vehicles and chargers mandated to use only CCS1 and NACS charging protocols before Chinese vehicles reach our shores, we can ensure that Mexico’s mistake is not repeated here.

James Carter is Principal Consultant of Vision Mobility, a Toronto-based consultancy that provides services to OEMs, Tier 1s, dealers, startups, industry organizations and companies on strategies to succeed in a New Mobility environment. Prior to that, James worked for Toyota for 19 years in Australia, Asia and North America.