Combined Charging System (CCS)

In 2011, SAE developed a J1772/CCS Combo Coupler variant of the J1772-2009 connector in order to also support the Combined Charging System standard for direct current (DC) fast charging, which includes the standard 5-pin J1772 connector along with an additional two larger pins to support fast DC charging. Combo 1 accommodates charging at 200–920 volts DC and up to 350 kW.The combination coupler will also use power-line communication technology to communicate between the vehicle, off-board charger, and smart grid. Seven car makers (Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Porsche, Volvo, and Volkswagen) agreed in late 2011 to introduce the Combined Charging System in mid-2012. The first vehicles using the SAE Combo plug were the BMW i3 released in late 2013, and the Chevrolet Spark EV released in 2014.

In Europe, the combo coupler is based on the Type 2 (VDE) AC charging connector (Combo 2) maintaining full compatibility with the SAE specification for DC charging and the HomePlug Green PHY PLC protocol. In 2019 Tesla introduced the Model 3 with a CCS Combo 2 plug in Europe, but has not introduced models with CCS in the US. With the introduction of the Model 3 in Europe, Tesla added CCS charging cables to V2 Superchargers (supporting both CCS Combo 2 and Tesla DC Type 2). European V3 Tesla Superchargers include only a CCS charging cable.