Cost was a reason for charge port location on R2 / R3 + other info in RJ interview with Electrek

[Watty]

Everyone is going to complain no matter where it is.

So then why not assume they did what was most prudent and appropriate assuming that was likely to be the case?

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[Olsonsolar]

Anything but front left or right pretty much guarantees having to unhitch if towing to charge.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Remember, they do intend this to be a global model, not just a North American one like the R1. Curb-side charging will be a more important use case with R2 and I imagine especially R3 at some point.

I really like the current port location but am pretty sure I could make anything work in my garage. I pull front in, but the 25’ cable can reach any corner. Just a matter of hanging it from the ceiling so it’s accessible to the rear instead of the front.

Will CCS2 even fit under that flap though?

 

[Watty]

Anything but front left or right pretty much guarantees having to unhitch if towing to charge.

Even if it was front left or right, how would you charge while hitched if the spot wasn't a pull through or "parallel parking?"

You'd be blocking the lane of travel in between stalls, no?

 

[Autolycus]

Will CCS2 even fit under that flap though?

Very good question! Probably not, but that’s a change of 2 body parts and the port plus maybe some electronics that would have to be different anyway. Much better than rerouting all the wiring.

 

[Olsonsolar]

Even if it was front left or right, how would you charge while hitched if the spot wasn't a pull through or "parallel parking?"

You'd be blocking the lane of travel in between stalls, no?

Wrong, there are many charging locations that allow for pulling in without blocking traffic. Many chargers are at the edge of parking lots with little to no traffic. I have yet to ever block traffic or take up more than the charging stall I was using. 2 examples Centerville Tx. RAN or the Lordsburg, NM Electrify America location. Both allow for pulling in and not blocking any traffic or other users.

 

[time]

I don't care if its front or back but it needs to be on driver's side. I'm not worried about L3 charging, walking around to the other side of the car every single day for L2 charging sucks ass

 

[macb00kemdanno]

I have an 18 foot cord at home on my Tesla wall charger. Left side rear, right side rear, doesn’t matter. It fits. Besides, 95% of my charging is done at home anyway.

 

[rhumbliner]

Long-term, DCFC sites will need to start being designed like gas stations. Covered spots that you pull through and that work better for all port locations should be the norm

That I agree with.

 

[rhumbliner]

I think “wrong way” is all relative, isn’t it?

Nope.

Rivian’s pull thru stalls place the pedestal at one end of a long parking spot so the trailer doesn’t stick out and block traffic. Going thru the wrong way places the trailer in the perfect spot to block traffic.

 

[Axel]

The problem with the passenger side for quite a few people who charge at home will be space and access. Many folks have just enough room for the width of the vehicle plus space for the driver to open their door. In those cases, you can’t charge if you leave room to open the door on the driver’s side. As a general rule, if there’s enough space to enter/exit the vehicle on the driver’s side there will be enough space to access and use the charge port on that side so you never cause the access problem that you can create by putting it on the passenger’s side, which can double the clearance requirement in a garage.

This is my issue as well. And RJ said during the event that 90% of charging is done at home, so lets talk this one out a bit more.

People with large garages and easy options to pull-in or back-in are fortunate to have so much space. Anyone with a narrow parking space knows there’s typically only one configuration to park that works, and it usually means parking tight on the passenger side so that the driver door can be opened. This is common for both the US and EU markets.

When passenger or rear side of the vehicle is closer to a wall, it becomes much more annoying to haul a cable over to the charge port. Then try squeeze back out without stomping all over the cable. Very annoying.

Driver side charge port is the clear better option when looking at this from a 90% home charging perspective.

Then the debate is front vs back. R1 did it right for towing: front-driver position. Really convenient to use. RJ said the rear side is driven by cost, when the vehicle is rear-wheel drive high voltage is only in the back. That’s reasonable.

It seems very clear where the best charge port location is for the most potential customers: Rear-driver.


Other things to consider:

- One Tesla will block two Rivian stalls at the Superchargers. Drive a R2 to a Supercharger stall when 4/6 or 5/8 of the stalls have Tesla’s charging and there’s a good chance the R2 will be blocked out from charging. This will be a common problem for the R2 and R3 drivers as Tesla’s will outnumber them for many years.

- The Tesla 3/Y customer base is ripe for pulling into a R2 or R3. People are annoyed with the CEO and may have frustrations with service. Perfect space with Rivian to win new owners, but if some people need to literally rewire their home charging station to a new location that sale won’t happen.

Let’s sell more Rivians by putting the charge post in the better location. Driver side rear.

 

[SeaGeo]

It seems very clear where the best charge port location is for the most potential customers: Rear-driver.

It's not very clear. The only thing really driving that choice is Tesla. One person noted driver side is helpful for very right parking, conversely passenger side is much better if you need to curbside charge.

 

[SoCal Rob]

It's not very clear. The only thing really driving that choice is Tesla. One person noted driver side is helpful for very right parking, conversely passenger side is much better if you need to curbside charge.

It’s not a matter of driver’s side being helpful, it’s a matter of passenger side making some parking locations unusable for charging. Nobody has proposed a viable work-around of an extension, pulling in a different direction, etc. which address this. The curbside L1/L2 charging issue has viable work-arounds but constrained width parking doesn’t. At least nobody here has proposed a solution that I’ve seen. If you have a space narrow enough that there is only enough room to open the driver’s door by placing the passenger side against a wall or other obstacle which prevents port access or ability to connect, how do people work around that?

I’m not saying that the driver’s side is universally better in all circumstances, but that the passenger side can create situations which make charging impossible which the driver’s side does not. Inconvenient, maybe, but not impossible.

If there is a there work-around for the width issue then I have no other objections. I really don’t care where the port is as long as it doesn’t render a significant number of spaces unusable.

 

[SeaGeo]

It’s not a matter of driver’s side being helpful, it’s a matter of passenger side making some parking locations unusable for charging. Nobody has proposed a viable work-around of an extension, pulling in a different direction, etc. which address this. The curbside L1/L2 charging issue has viable work-arounds but constrained width parking doesn’t. At least nobody here has proposed a solution that I’ve seen. If you have a space narrow enough that there is only enough room to open the driver’s door by placing the passenger side against a wall or other obstacle which prevents port access or ability to connect, how do people work around that?

I’m not saying that the driver’s side is universally better in all circumstances, but that the passenger side can create situations which make charging impossible which the driver’s side does not. Inconvenient, maybe, but not impossible.

If there is a there work-around for the width issue then I have no other objections. I really don’t care where the port is as long as it doesn’t render a significant number of spaces unusable.

I hear ya, and it was a good point I hadn't thought of previously. My POV on this is the likelihood of A is much greater than B. Apparently curbside parking is relatively common in Europe, and you're starting to see it more here in various cities. I also would absolutely not charge a car on a street with the charge handle sticking out into the street.

To your concern, I have a neighbor who fits two vehicles in a garage in a way that I honestly don't know how they get out. I still think they could get a charger in on the passenger side up against the rear as long as they are nose in to the garage.

 

[SoCal Rob]

I hear ya, and it was a good point I hadn't thought of previously. My POV on this is the likelihood of A is much greater than B. Apparently curbside parking is relatively common in Europe, and you're starting to see it more here in various cities. I also would absolutely not charge a car on a street with the charge handle sticking out into the street.

I completely understand the issues with curbside charging and I agree that there needs to be some accommodation. Beyond that, from what I’ve seen folks in Europe typically have even narrower garages and assigned parking when they have them. I just don’t think that a convenience with a work-around (even for many) should override a need without a work-around (even for few). On some level, it wouldn’t surprise me if here in the U.S. an ADA complaint wouldn’t force the issue to accommodate charging from both sides.

I think the biggest issue with street side ports for curbside charging is the possibility of damage. If so, maybe passenger side rear and facing rearward would work? The issue then is that the handle plus minimum bend radius of the cable really shouldn’t protrude beyond the back of the vehicle. I can almost picture a port which moves outward clear of the bodywork while going no further than the widest point on the vehicle. This introduces other issues but I think it could work, at least with lighter-weight NACS connectors.

Maybe manufacturers put a charging port on both sides but provide DCFC-capable charging only on the curb side so that the street side (typically driver’s side) permits L1/L2 only. This would be less confusing without NACS connectors since a J1772 on one side and a CCS on the other make it pretty obvious what the capabilities are: L1/L2 on both sides with DCFC on one side only. This would save cost and weight on conductors but it would require more connectors and port cover mechanisms. It could be sold for redundancy, too, if there was a problem with a port or port cover you can still charge your vehicle.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

As I said, I’m not married to a location, I’m just opposed to a location which completely prevents charging in assigned parking spaces based on their width. For the not insignificant number of people impacted, that takes away a pretty compelling features of EVs: refueling in their existing parking overnight so they don’t have to go to a refueling station.

edit: typo

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