Looking for a solution to Charge the LEAF at an Autolib Station

Since last saturday, when we found out that an Autolib Charging cable is too short for a LEAF, I have been looking for a solution ....

All Autolib charging stations have a Type 3 outlet and plug, a J1772 to plug into the car, (and third party EV ones have a regular 220V outlet)


First I thought, let's get a Type 3 (only in France ...) to J1772 cable, 7 meters long at least to go from the back of the car to the front charge port; I found one on Yoann's Automobile Propre Online Store
But it is too pricy for me ...


Also found one on Leboncoin.fr, but it is also 300EUR and 5m long only ... and the LEAF is 4.5m long, so it is too short too




Then I thought: No this Type 3 will eventually come to an end since it is not used at all other than in France, and all Europe is using Type 2 / Mennekes
So let's stay with Autolib J1772, and extend it to the front of the LEAF with a J1772 Extension Cable, yes it does exist, in the US at least, and a good one



After requesting a quote, it comes to 385USD shipped to France, too pricy still, but looks very well built, and has been sold by hundreds I was told
Here is a picture of a user who charges his Tesla Model S with it in Hawaii



Finally this morning, I came across this French guy's website on his Opel Ampera (= Chevy Volt in Europe) and all his charging adpators (a lot)

I asked him and it looks like it has been made by a company in Germany, and I am trying to get in touch with them to get one 

I will use it on the Autolib charging station, unplugging their Type 3 plug, and plugging this one instead, and plug my regular LEAF EVSE ...


onto the European outlet using an inexpensive adaptor

First Charge of the LEAF at an Autolib Station in Paris

Yesterday, after getting this new RFid Badge from Autolib to charge the LEAF, we went for Japanese lunch, and instead of parking in the regular underground parking, parked an Autolib station right next to it, since one spot was opened ...



I swipped the RFid badge, the lid blinked green, and I opened it

Guess what, the J1772 Yazaki charge cable is too short to go all the way to the front of the LEAF to access the charge port .... bummer ! - I actually knew this already - but here is a picture with my son showing the maximum length ...

As you probably know, the charge port on a BlueCar is located at the rear of the car to the right, next to the charge station lid


The solution would be to buy a Type 3 to Type 1 cable, unplug the one in the charge station, and plug mine; Problem: this kind of cable is not at all cheap ...

Also, the LEAF is a tight fit in an Autolib spot, it is just the right length, but a Model S would never fit there ....   ;-)









Finally I could never figure out if my badge started a Charge and since I did not use any power I guess it never started counting anything

My Autolib iPhone App shows no charges at all, just like nothing ever happened ...


Later on after lunch we went in Marais and plugged right behind the City hall as usual

Surprise: A white Vectrix was there, parked on the sidewalk, charging ... this is rare enough to take a picture



Charging full blast at 10.5A x 143V = 1,500W


Funny thing: he left his helmet there, passing the charging cable through it


Vectrix and LEAF charging together


LEAF with Autolib charging

DBT-CEV installed all the charging stations at Leclerc

As you already know, Leclerc supermarket chain has revealed a partnership with Renault, buying their Twizy and Zoe and making them available to their employees and customers, last week at Pont l'Abbé in Brittany, France.



Douaisienne de Basse Tension (DBT)'s CEO Hervé Borgoltz on the left, Leclerc's CEO Michel Edouard Leclerc on the right


Little was said about this now famous French charging station maker DBT / DBT-CEV providing the charge infrastructure on Leclerc's parking lot; They call it the first wave of  " ZE Ready " stations, meaning that they are compatible with all EVs.




Two Zoe plugged in and charging


" ZE Ready " Charging Stations


Michel Edouard Leclerc and Carlos Tavares from Renault plugging in


Brand new EV only parking spots ... Already ICEd ...

Renault ZOE Test Drive - My Video !

This is the 4th video featuring the real (not concept car) Renault ZOE, after the two BFMTV videos, a very short one just before the 2012 Paris Motor Show , the second one with French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg, and AutoMoto test the  last week.

More Pictures here ...
Another Video here ...
And another one here ...

Mon Essai Renault Zoé :-)

This Fully Electric ZOE is going to be a Hit, there is

 no doubt about it !

Why ? => Small Price, Beautiful Design, & Performance

This morning I had the chance to test drive the Renault ZOE at the Renault EV Center and test track on Ile Seguin, in Boulogne Billancourt, next to Paris

I would like to thank the whole team there for the warm welcome and kindness to let us test drive at the last minute without any appointment; It was very nice from them :-)

ZOE sunny line up

The beautiful rear end

It all started with this: The ZOE test drive badge

Renault Ile Seguin Test Center, where all the Renault Z.E. test drives are taking place 

Then an interesting 20 minutes ZOE presentation,
 with a coffee (LED ligthting in the room)


Then came the test drive with the person who did the presentation
and he knew what he was talking about (it is not always the case 
when it comes to Electric Drive)

Our co-test drivers, a father and his son, like us, were very impressed 
with ZOE's acceleration (again with 5 people in the car)

The overall impression after few minutes of test drive is very good: Acceleration feels very similar to my Nissan LEAF, although we were five in the car (4 adults and my son) and the motor is theoretically less powerful, I did not feel any difference

Even with this top of the line version of ZOE (Intens at 15.500 EUR with incentive), the confort is a bit different from the LEAF, but for that price, it can not be beaten I think; Congratulations to Renault for offering such a well designed Fully Electric Car with that small price tag !

I even got in touch with a sales person who will study the possibilty of taking my LEAF back (we will see what they offer of course) and buy a ZOE instead... who knows, for the miles I am driving anyways, I could be a good idea, financially speaking ;-)

My son wanted to drive ... maybe in few years I said

This picture made me think of this slogan:

ZOE : An affordable Electric Car for the Future Generation, Available Now !

ZOE and Meudon hill in the back, beautiful ... (click to see a better quality picture)

Now, more about charging :

The charging equipement installed is from Schneider Electrics, 3kW and 22 kW AC charge stations

Schneider Electrics power supply central equipement for charging stations

Display close up (sorry for the sun reflection, that is the best I could do)

Charge stations, supplying 3kW , or 22 kW for faster charging of the ZOE 22kWh battery in just 1 hour ! ... 43 kW charging will be also be possible thanks to Three Phases AC 400V supply

... through the (French only) Type 3 outlet (should change later on to Type 2
 to become compatible with other European countries) 

Pretty cool charge station, showing outlet status and state of charge also !


Nice, very nice test center on this island "Ile Seguin", 
where used to be Renault's main factory for decades

More pictures of this Test Drive here

More about Renault ZOE (lots of pics & videos)

More about ZOE versions, prices and incentives

ZOE Colors available

Book yours today on Renault Z.E. (Zero Emission) Website

If you wish to come and test drive the Renault ZOE, please call or email them here for an appointment:

Renault & Schneider Electric Charging Stations

While I was at the Renault EV Center (Centre Renault ZE) to see the now famous ZOE, I took some pictures of the different charging options proposed by Renault, through Schneider Electric

Summary of all standards available now:

In France, it looks like a standard would be to have a Type 3 charge port on the station side and a Type 1 (= J1772) charge port on the vehicle side; That is what we can see here:

Vehicle side: J1772 or Type 1

Charger / Charge station side: Type 3

This is a Quick Charger: It says 400V, 43kW AC, the port here is a Type 2

Of course every car from the ZE line comes with the basic EVSE, to plug in any 220V outlet and J1772 on the vehicle side (that's what I use on a daily basis with the LEAF and it is fine)