Early electric vehicles like the General Motors EV1 and Toyota RAV4 EV used Magne Charge (SAE J1773), an inductive system.

CARB rejected the inductive technology in favor of conductive coupling to supply electricity for recharging.

In June 2001, CARB adopted the SAE J1772-2001 standard as the charging interface for electric vehicles in California.

This process led to the proposal of a new round connector design by Yazaki which allowed for an increased power delivery of up to 19.2 kW delivered via single phase 120–240 V AC at up to 80 amps.

In 2008, CARB published a new standard that mandated the usage of the new connector beginning with the 2010 model year;[7] this was approved in 2012.

[10] The companies participating in or supporting the revised 2009 standard include smart, Chrysler, GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Rivian, and Tesla.

[11][needs update] The SAE J1772 connector is considered a “Type 1” implementation providing a single phase coupler.

The connector became standard equipment in the U.S. market due to the availability of charging stations supporting it in the nation's electric vehicle network (helped by funding such as the ChargePoint America program drawing grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act).

[15] Seven car makers (Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Porsche, Volvo, and Volkswagen) agreed in late 2011 to introduce the Combined Charging System in mid-2012.

[citation needed] The J1772-2009 connector is designed for single phase alternating current electrical systems with 120 V or 240 V such as those used in North America and Japan.

[22] The SAE J1772 or Type 1 plug is locked into the car with a hook that is manually operated, mostly by pressing a button with the thumb, which interrupts power.

To prevent this, the European IEC 62196 Type 2 connector has openings on the side for automatic locking and release, operated by the car owner via remote control.

In addition, the charge port on many modern cars with a J1772 connector have an extendable pin that blocks the J1772 latch from being raised.

As the connector is removed, the shorter control pilot pin disconnects first, causing the EVSE to drop power to the plug.

The Control Pilot line circuitry examples in SAE J1772:2001 show that the current loop CP–PE is connected permanently on the vehicle side via a 2.74 kΩ resistor, making for a voltage drop from +12 V to +9 V when a cable is hooked up to the charging station, which activates the wave generator.

[29] Note that the diode will only make for a voltage drop in the positive range; any negative voltage on the CP–PE loop is blocked by D1 in the vehicle, any significant current that does flow in the CP–PE loop during the negative period will shut off the current as being considered a fatal error (like touching the pins).

[29] The proximity pin, PP (also known as plug present), as shown in the SAE J1772 example pinout, describes the switch, S3, as being mechanically linked to the connector latch release actuator.

During charging, the EVSE side connects the PP–PE loop via S3 and a 150 Ω R6; when opening the release actuator a 330 Ω R7 is added in the PP–PE loop on the EVSE side which gives a voltage shift on the line to allow the electric vehicle to initiate a controlled shut off prior to actual disconnection of the charge power pins.

In 2018, the SAE J3068 committee released an enhancement to the EU connector tailored for the North American industrial market allowing up to 160 A / 166 kW on 3φ power.

The same IEC 62196-2 standard also specified a pair of Type 3 connector from Scame Global providing a single- and three-phase coupler with shutters.

[12] After a 2016 approval by the IEC for a small modification to the Mennekes connector optionally allowing shutters, Type 3 has been deprecated.