Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

A Potential ("new") Source of Electric-Car Charging Adapters

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.

tps5352

Active Member
Supporting Member
OK, this was new to me. Although the Chinese firm Electway is mentioned in four previous TMC posts, most of those cite outdated links and none were discussing actual charging adapters. What initially caught my eye was this eBay auction:

CHAdeMO-to-GB/T Adapter

Ignore the (arguably ridiculous) asking price (of $1,740). Instead, what interested me was that this was (to me) a new type of adapter. So I visited the Electway website. There I found several adapters that could potentially be of use to Tesla drivers in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania (see below). I have requested further information (e.g., prices) from the Electway. If they are in the neighborhood of $1740, then never mind; that would not be competitive with Tesla and other third-party adapter products. But if they are closer to, say, $500 or less, then we possibly have another viable source for CHAdeMO, CCS1, and CCS2 adapters that drivers around the Globe can consider--e.g., for Teslas from one region being used in areas with entirely different charge standards.

Since I believe I saw USB-type connectors on some adapters, the CCS1 adapters may be similar to the SETEC/Lectron CCS1 adapters--i.e., CHAdeMO mimics with battery and software and that top out at ~50 kW. But at this point I do not have specifications. Perhaps others are familiar with these products? If so, please let us know your experiences.

Electway Electric-Car Charging Adapters
Adapter Accepts​
Adapter Connects to​
Website​
Of Use to Cars From​
CHAdeMO Cable-Plug​
GB/T (DC) Car-Port​
China​
CCS1 Cable-Plug​
GB/T (DC) Car-Port​
China​
CCS2 Cable-Plug​
GB/T (DC) Car-Port​
China​
CHAdeMO Cable-Plug​
Tesla Proprietary (TPC) Car-Port​
North America, Japan, Korea​
CCS1 Cable-Plug
Tesla Proprietary (TPC) Car-Port​
North America, Japan, Korea​
CCS2 Cable-Plug​
Tesla Proprietary (TPC) Car-Port​
North America, Japan, Korea​
CHAdeMO Cable-Plug​
Type 2 "Mennekes" Car-Port​
Europe, Oceania, Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc.*​
* I assume that, as with the Tesla CHAdeMO Adapter, the Electway CHAdeMO Type 2 adapter is only suitable for the (now older) Type 2 port Models S and X?


Electway CCS1-to-TPC Aadapter Electway CHAdeMO-to-TPC Aadapter


Since I assume we know nothing about specifications, quality, and prices for these products, I am not recommending any of them. Just pointing out what may prove to be an interesting "new" source of charging adapters. [Addendum: The "to-Tesla" adapters are not for sale yet. See Post #5, below.]

For more information about Tesla charging ports, plugs, and adapters of the world, see here (Tesla Plugs and Adapters) and here (International Tesla Charging Standards).
 
Last edited:
A few things jumped out at me:
  • The images for the CCS1-to-TPC adapter look like photos, but the images for the CHAdeMO-to-TPC adapter look like 3D renderings. This makes me think they may have, at best, an ugly prototype for the latter and they're waiting to see if there's sufficient demand before beginning production.
  • I saw no prices on the Web page. This suggests they're a manufacturer who's not willing to sell to the general public; and maybe they're waiting for inquiries from distributors or retailers before they even begin production.
  • The CCS1-to-TPC adapter has the same design flaw as the Setec/Lectron design -- namely, it has no way to lock the CCS1 latch to prevent its removal. Thus, if this is a real product and not vaporware or a pre-production prototype, Tesla is likely to find a way to identify it and lock it out, or at least display the arc flash hazard warning, similar to the Setec/Lectron adapter.
  • The specs on the CCS1-to-TPC adapter are 500v, 200A. Given that most Teslas have 400v architecture, this works out to a theoretical maximum of 80kW charge speed. This is the same as the Setec/Lectron adapter (which can theoretically do up to 800v/200A). If, like the Setec/Lectron adapter, this one emulates Tesla's CHAdeMO adapter, then it would likely top out at 50kW because of the car's software-imposed limit. If the adapter can safely emulate Tesla's Supercharger protocols, then it might reach up to 80kW. I've seen reports of the Setec/Lectron doing the same thing with experimental firmware, but those same reports suggest that this firmware may also have damaged at least two cars' charging hardware, so I'd exercise extreme caution if this is what this adapter is doing.
Overall, these products don't look appealing, at least when driving a North American-spec Tesla in North America. I'd much prefer using Tesla's CCS1 adapter, even if that meant upgrading the car's charging circuit board myself on an older Tesla. If I needed CHAdeMO support for some reason, then I'd be more comfortable with Tesla's own adapter. They no longer sell it in the US, but it is available as a grey-market import, so I'd buy it that way if I needed one.

That said, some of these adapters might be useful when importing a Tesla (or some other EVs) from one market into another one. Also, there's no telling what may happen in the future. Third-party adapters like these may become necessary for one reason or another. I expect there might soon be need of a CCS1-to-CHAdeMO adapter for drivers of Leafs and early compliance EVs from Japanese and Korean manufacturers, but I don't see that product in the list.
 
A few things jumped out at me:
  • ...the images for the CHAdeMO-to-TPC adapter look like 3D renderings. This makes me think they may have, at best, an ugly prototype for the latter and they're waiting to see if there's sufficient demand before beginning production...

Good analysis by you.

Here is a response from Electway (that had gone to my Spam Folder):

"Our CHAdeMO to Tesla adapter still on R&D phase,will let you know when it is ready."

and in response to a followup question from me:

"All Tesla adapters are under developent[sic].

Maybe ready by the end of this year or next year."
 
Last edited:
  • Informative
Reactions: srs5694
10/5/2022 Update: I am receiving an error when I try to search/explore Electway's website for the latest information about its planned third-party CCS1 adapter:

"Web server is returning an unknown error"​

This may be just an Internet issue (from connecting to a Chinese website), or I suppose it could possibly mean problems with the company or with the CCS1 adapter (now that Tesla has released its adapter to North America). I'll followup with news if I can learn more.