Type 2 to Schuko Cables

A Type 2 to Schuko cable lets a Type 2 EV charge from a continental European 2-pin socket, the standard household outlet across France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland and most of mainland Europe. If you're driving the EV abroad and the only thing the gîte, hotel or relative has is a normal European wall socket, this is the cable that makes it work.

What is a Schuko plug?

Schuko (from Schutzkontakt, "protective contact") is the CEE 7/4 plug: round, two pins, with earth contacts on the side rather than a third pin. It's rated 16A 230V single-phase. It's not compatible with UK BS 1363 sockets (the 3-pin square pattern) without an adapter, and EV cables are only sold in either Type 2 to Schuko or Type 2 to UK 3-pin variants, never both. Pick the one that matches where you'll be charging.

Why this is your "Europe" cable

UK granny chargers terminate in a UK 3-pin and won't fit a French or German wall socket without a travel adapter, and a travel adapter rated for 6-10A continuous load is hard to find and not really safe for hours of EV charging. A purpose-built Type 2 to Schuko cable solves this properly:

• Native fit in any continental Europe Schuko outlet.
• In-cable control box with thermal monitoring: flags overheating sockets before they fail.
• Switchable current on most units (6A / 8A / 10A) so you can dial down on older or unknown wiring.

Power and charging speed

Schuko sockets are usually fused at 16A but EV cables are typically capped at 10-13A continuous to stay safely within the socket's continuous-load rating. Expect:

• 10A (2.3kW): about 8-10 miles of range per hour, or 80-100 miles overnight.
• 13A (3kW): about 12 miles per hour, only on confirmed dedicated outdoor sockets.

This is slow charging: perfect for an overnight top-up, not for long-distance fast charging. For rapid charging on a European road trip use the network of CCS chargers (Ionity, Allego, Fastned, Tesla Supercharger V3), your car does that natively.

Country compatibility

Schuko or compatible CEE 7/16 (Europlug) sockets are standard in: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark (with adapter to type K), Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania. Not compatible: UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta (BS 1363 3-pin): those need a UK granny charger.

Schuko vs UK 3-pin: get the right one

If you primarily charge in the UK, you want a UK 3-pin granny charger, not a Schuko one. If you primarily charge abroad, you want this one. If you do both regularly, two cables is genuinely cheaper than trying to find a high-current travel adapter that's safe for continuous EV load.

Safety on unknown sockets

Older European wiring is highly variable. Tips:

• Drop to 8A if the socket feels warm to the touch within the first 30 minutes, it's a sign of marginal wiring.
• Don't use multi-way adapters or extension leads on the cable: plug directly into the wall.
• Check earthing: older French and Spanish properties sometimes have non-earthed circuits. The cable's ICCB will refuse to start charging on an unearthed circuit; that's a safety feature, not a fault.

Length

5m is the standard. 10m gives you reach in awkward holiday-let layouts where the socket is in the garage and you park outside. There's no benefit to going longer: voltage drop becomes significant past 10m at low voltages.