Opel Ampera-e with CCS Combo 2 in Europe

The CharIN group recommends a harmonized CCS connector approach per each geographical region.

The Combo 1 (J1772) will be, beside some exceptions, found only in North America, while nearly the entire rest of the world has already signed to (or is recommended to) Combo 2 (Type 2). Japan and China of course always go their own way.

Chevrolet Bolt EV w/Optional CCS Combo 1 (J1772)

The Combined Charging System (CCS), as the name indicates, combines different charging methods - AC and DC into single connector.

The only problem is that it was developed far too late to have CCS become the default format for the entire world out of the gate.

North America decided to use a single phase SAE J1772 connector for AC, while Europe opted for the single and three-phase AC Type 2. To add DC charging capability, and save backward compatibility, two different CCS connectors were developed; one for North America, and the other for Europe.

From this point, the more universal Combo 2 (which also handles three-phase) seems to be conquering the world (only Japan and China doesn't support one of two versions in some way).

There are four major public DC fast charging standards right now:

CCS Combo 1 - North America (and some other regions)

CCS Combo 2 - most of the world (including Europe, Australia, South America, Africa and Asia)

GB/T - China

CHAdeMO - present globally and kind of monopoly in Japan