CCS2, Type 2, Bharat AC/DC: EV charging connectors in India explained
Which plug fits your EV, which chargers you can use, and why some stations list connectors you'll never need.
Pull into a charging station in India and you might see a list of connectors: CCS2, Type 2, Bharat DC-001, CHAdeMO, 15A socket. Only one or two of them will fit your car or scooter. Here's how to tell which.
The short answer
| If you drive… | Fast charging (DC) | Slow charging (AC) |
|---|---|---|
| Most new electric cars (Tata, MG, Hyundai, Mahindra, BYD and others) | CCS2 | Type 2 |
| Older fleet cars (early Tata Tigor EV, Mahindra eVerito) | Bharat DC-001 | Bharat AC-001 / 15A socket |
| Electric scooters and bikes | Brand-specific or shared light-EV plugs | 15A socket with the portable charger |
When you search on our map, filter by your connector so you only see chargers you can use.
CCS2: the fast-charging standard for cars
CCS2 (Combined Charging System, Type 2) is the plug you'll use at almost every public DC fast charger for cars in India. It's a Type 2 plug with two large DC pins added underneath, so the same socket on your car takes both AC and DC.
- Typical public speeds: 30 kW to 120 kW, with some newer sites going higher.
- Your car decides the real speed. A car that accepts 50 kW won't go faster on a 120 kW charger.
Type 2: AC charging at home and in car parks
Type 2 is the 7-pin AC plug. It's on home wallboxes and on the slower public chargers you find at malls, offices and hotels.
- Common power levels: 3.3 kW, 7.4 kW, and up to 22 kW where three-phase power is available.
- Your car's onboard charger limits the speed. Many Indian EVs accept 3.3 kW to 11 kW on AC, so a 22 kW post won't always charge faster.
Bharat AC-001 and DC-001: India's early standards
Before CCS2 took over, India set its own low-cost charging standards:
- Bharat AC-001 has three separate outputs of about 3.3 kW each, using industrial IEC 60309 sockets. It was designed for small cars, autos and scooters.
- Bharat DC-001 delivers up to about 15 kW through a GB/T-style plug. It was built for low-voltage fleet cars from the first wave of government EV tenders.
You'll still see these at older government and fleet sites. If your car is recent, you can usually ignore them.
CHAdeMO: rare in India
CHAdeMO is a Japanese DC fast-charging standard. Very few cars sold in India use it, so it shows up only at a handful of older multi-standard chargers.
15A socket: the universal fallback
The plain 15A three-pin socket is how most electric scooters charge, using the charger that comes with them. Many cars also come with a portable charger that plugs into a 15A socket. It's slow (about 2 to 3 kW for a car), but it works almost anywhere with a proper earthed socket.
What about electric scooters?
Scooter fast charging is still a mix. Some brands use their own fast-charging plugs at their own networks. Others are moving to shared standards for light EVs, including the LECCS connector, which has been adopted as an Indian standard for light electric vehicles. Check your scooter's manual, or look for your brand's network on the map.
Tips before you drive to a charger
- Know both your sockets: the AC plug and the DC plug your EV accepts.
- Check the max DC power your EV accepts. That's your real top speed at fast chargers.
- Filter the map by connector so you never arrive at a charger you can't use.