Legrand debuts its plug-and-play Level 2 home EV charger in the US
Global electrical product giant Legrand is launching its first-ever Level 2 home EV charger in the US market, and it’s plug-and-play.
Legrand’s first-ever home EV charger
Legrand’s Plug-In Home Level 2 EV Charger is pretty simple. It doesn’t require an electrician to hard-wire it into a house’s electrical system; it only needs to be plugged into a 50-amp power outlet – the kind that’s used for such appliances as dryers, stoves, or heavy-duty power tools. Legrand’s home EV charger also isn’t networked.
The unit is rated for 40 A and provides an output of 9.6kW, so it can deliver an extended range of up to 38 miles per hour of charging.
This compact charger comes with an SAE J1772 Connector and will also charge Teslas with an adapter. It’s robust enough to be used both indoors and outdoors and is Energy Star certified for efficiency.
Kevin Kohl, Legrand’s director of product management and user experiences, said:
For many people, their garages and driveways don’t have a lot of room to spare. The unit itself is sleek and compact so that it can provide convenient charging access without adding bulk to the space. Its cord is 18’ long, so that it can easily reach multiple spots and get where it needs to, but it then easily rolls up and stores on the unit’s included hook and holster. Perfect for keeping it tidy and out of the way when not in use.
Electrek’s Take
My colleague, Jameson Dow, rightly wondered what was unique about this EV charger because there are a lot of home EV chargers coming to market.
Legrand is a legacy brand, and this is its first-ever home EV charger. So there will be a guaranteed level of quality with this product, for a start.
Also, not everyone wants or needs to be hard-wired and networked into Wi-Fi. Sometimes people just want a pared-down option to charge their EVs at home. If you rent your home, for example, this would be a great home EV charger option, assuming there was a 50-amp power outlet already onsite.
This option wouldn’t work for me – my ChargePoint EV charger is hard-wired and hooked up to Wi-Fi so that I can get a reduced rate from my utility, Green Mountain Power. That being the case, I’d rather get a discount on my electricity bill, and GMP gave me my EV charger for free.
But I paid nearly $1,000 to have it installed, so it’s a good thing my charger was free. Legrand’s home charger, on the other hand, costs $739. So that’s cheaper upfront than what I paid, just as a point of comparison.
So I think that what’s so great about Legrand’s new product is that it’s another indicator that choices of home EV chargers are increasing – the more, the merrier, as long as they’re of good quality.
Photos: Legrand
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Tesla has started to offer discounted financing on Cybertruck as the electric pickup truck undoubtedly turns out to be a flop.
Tesla claimed over 1 million reservations for the Cybertruck, and CEO Elon Musk said he could see Tesla producing 500,000 units per year.
However, that was before Tesla announced that the production version would be much more expensive and have a shorter range than what was initially announced.
The Cybertruck has now been in production for a year and a half, and it looks like Tesla would be lucky to sell about 10% of Musk’s goal of 500,000 units.
The automaker doesn’t report Cybertruck sales, but it is estimated that Tesla delivered roughly 40,000 Cybertrucks in 2024, and it is expected to have even more issues selling the truck this year.
Tesla has taken several steps to help sales.
We reported that Tesla launched Cybertruck leases to help move vehicles. The company is even still tucked with “Foundations Series” Cybertrucks, and we found out that Tesla buffed “Foundations Series” badges out of some trucks to sell them as cheaper regular Cybertrucks.
For the remaining “Foundations Series,” which there still are despite Tesla switching to regular Cybertruck production in October, Tesla has even offered free Supercharging for life.
Now, Tesla is stepping up its game, and it is offering discounted financing on new Cybertruck orders:
Tesla announced 1.99% APR for a limited time:
1.99% APR available for a limited time for well-qualified buyers
WIthout the “promotion”, the rate for excellent credit is 5.84%.
While Tesla is discounting the rates, it is not discounting them as much as for new Model 3 orders.
We reported earlier this week that Tesla offers 0% and 0.99% with $0 down on new Model 3 orders in the US until the end of the quarter.
Electrek’s Take
It is very possible that Tesla can’t sell more than 10,000 Cybertrucks this quarter, which would extrapolate to 40,000 units per year or less than 10% of what Elon said he would see Tesla delivering.
Now, the cheaper single motor Cybertruck should help, but by how much? It could bring Tesla to 20-30% of the volume Elon saw possible?
I think it’s fairly clear that the Cybertruck is a flop.
Tesla launched a single new vehicle in the last 5 years and it is a flop.
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Environment
Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China and it crashed the server starting at just $15,000
Toyota looks to grab a bigger share of the world’s largest EV market as it takes aim at BYD and other low-cost leaders. On Thursday, Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X, starting at roughly $15,000. The new electric SUV crashed the server with over 10,000 orders in an hour.
Meet Toyota’s cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X
The bz3X is Toyota’s “first 100,000 yuan-level pure electric SUV” in China and its cheapest EV to hit the market so far.
Toyota’s Chinese joint venture, GAC-Toyota officially launched the “Bozhi 3X,” or bZ3X for short, in China on March 6. Shortly after, the company said orders for its new electric SUV were “so popular that the server crashed” after revealing prices start at just over $15,000 (109,800 yuan).
After securing over 10,000 orders in just one hour, Toyota boasted again that “the server is overwhelmed.” The launch comes after blind pre-orders opened in December, starting at just under $14,000 (100,000 yuan).
The bZ3X is available in two versions, with or without its full-scenario smart driving tech. The non-smart tech model starts at 109,800 yuan ($15,000) with five trim options while the smart driving model starts at 149,800 yuan ($20,500).
For 159,800 yuan ($22,000), the range-topping “610 Max” trim provides up to 610 km (379 miles) CLTC range from a 67.92 kWh LFP battery. The base “430 Air” gets up to 430 km (267 miles) from a 50.03 kWh LFP battery pack.
Toyota said the interior provides “a mobile space that is comfortable as home,” with front and rear seats that can fold down to provide nearly 10 feet (3 meters) of space.
Inside, the electric SUV has a 14.6″ infotainment screen with voice recognition and an 8.8″ driver display. It also includes a two-spoke multi-function steering wheel.
Toyota’s new bZ3X is its first vehicle with the Momenta 5.0 Intelligent Driving System. Powered by NVIDIA Drive AGX Orin X, it comes with 25 ADAS features, such as parallel parking, remote control parking, high-speed pilot, light traffic assist, and blind spot monitoring.
GAC-Toyota claimed it will be “one of the first automakers in the world to realize a one-stage end-to-end intelligent driving model.” With human-like intelligence, the vehicle “gets smarter and better with use.”
At 4,600 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,645 mm tall, Toyota’s cheapest EV in China is about the size of BYD’s Yuan Plus (Atto 3) at 4,455 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,615 mm tall. Starting at 115,800 yuan ($16,000), Toyota’s new bZ3X slightly undercuts BYD’s electric SUV.
What do you think of Toyota’s new electric SUV? Would you buy one for around $15,000? We’ll keep dreaming.
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