Charging upgrade?

[Bat66]

So as a 'happy' 2013 i3ReX owner I headed to the EV charging section of my local Sainsburys thinking easy parking and top-up while shopping. However, the system they have has cables ending in a CCS combo type 2 cable which will not fit. My understanding is that this is now the 'most common' type of port on the newer cars as well as later i3 models, so I'm wondering is there an upgrade that can be fitted to a 1st gen i3 which only has the type 2 port?

Admittedly Pod-Point others that I've used in the past tend to have a socket to plug my type 2 cable into instead of actually having fixed cables to plug into the car, but if this is going to become most common in places should I be worried?

 

[EvanstonI3]

You can pay to upgrade but it will cost you thousands. It is not just a new port. The port comes with new cabling that must be installed as well.

 

[Mondomensch]

As I understand it the issue here is older (level 2 in US; type 2 in Europe) AC charging versus the now common fast DC charging. The older i3 models lacking fast DC charging support would have to have the internal modules supporting DC charging installed as well as wiring and the plug socket, right?

At least in the SF Bay Area, there seem to be many more level 2 AC chargers available than DC fast chargers, but I have noticed that in places with both, the older level 2 AC chargers are often permanently out of order.

I have found that municipal as opposed to commercial parking garages often have a number of AC chargers which are convenient for hour or longer use while visiting restaurants and shops in adjacent business streets.

Good luck!

(edited to correct level 2 vs type 2, thanks Alohart)

 

[alohart]

As I understand it the issue here is older level 2 AC charging versus the now common fast DC charging.

@Bat66 resides where SAE J1772 charging standards aren't used (i.e., there is no AC Level 1 and 2). However, the problem seems similar to what would happen with a 2014 U.S. i3 without the DC fast charging option trying to use a CCS-1 DC fast charger.