How to Choose Your Toyota Charging Stations?

When it comes to automobile manufacturing, brands like Toyota have imprinted their names on the hearts of their customers. They’ve achieved this not just by manufacturing great and awesome cars but also by understanding the present needs of the automotive industry. Toyota’s EVs rank as some of the most innovative and effective among many other automobile giants. Yet, like other EV manufacturers, their customers still have the challenge of finding a suitable charging station for their Toyota EVs. Fortunately, their inability to find a suitable charging solution has nothing to do with the availability of quality charging station manufacturers. This article aims to show you where and how to locate a quality charger for your Toyota. So, if you are ready, then let’s go.

II. What Toyota Drivers Need to Know about EV Charging

Toyota has been a force to reckon with in the hybrid vehicle manufacturing sector. Still, it has also added an electric car to this collection, even though it’s a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) called Prius Prime. With 55 mpg and 53 mpg for city and highway, respectively, the Prius Prime is an effective, pomp, and pleasant vehicle. It also packs an all-electric range of 25 miles which is only substituted with gasoline when the speed hits 85mph or when its batteries run out of juice. This total package makes it one of the best PHEVs globally as far back as 2017 when it entered the market.

III. Which Type of Charging Speed is Perfect for you?

The decision to choose the perfect charging speed often accompanies the requirement of the electric vehicle – the Toyota Prius Prime. This choice is dependent on such requirements as the time of travel during the day and the battery capacity. 

Firstly, the time you spend driving the electric vehicle daily affects your choice of charging speed. For example, if you drive long distances to work every day, you might have to charge your electric car multiple times during the day. Therefore, using a level 1 charger might not be the best option for you as the charging speed is the slowest and can delay you and even frustrate you if used to charge your EV during the day. On the other hand, if you drive short distances and probably don’t exhaust the battery juice during your drive, then a level 1 charger might be the best option for you as you are not in any hurry, and you can afford to charge your Toyota EV overnight.

Secondly, the battery capacity is equally a determinant in choosing the perfect charging speed for your Toyota EV. A high battery capacity can take you very far during the day, and you might only need to charge it overnight using the very slow level 1 charging station. Unfortunately, the Prius Prime doesn’t have a high battery capacity and might even need to use a portable charger to enjoy the all-electric range benefit of the car.

IV. How do you Charge a Toyota Electric Car?

Charging your Toyota plug-in hybrid could either be done in public or the safety and comfort of your home with a wall-mounted charger in your garage. The type of EV charger you have installed in your home determines your charging time. For level 1 charging stations, they come with a J1772 cable with the EVs, and it’s usually in the cargo compartment of the car. However, using a level 1 charger means longer charging hours. Hence, many EV users upgrade their home charging stations to a level 2 (240v) for faster charging.

Public charging hubs are typically equipped with level 2 chargers. For Toyota, a plug-in hybrid vehicle like the Prius Prime charges its 3.3kW battery with a 15 amp current. Using a level 1 charger of 120V will take about 5.5 hours to completely charge, while a 240V level 2 charger takes only about 2 hours to fill up the battery. Nevertheless, the 8.8kWh battery is adequately supplied by a level 1 charger, with daily charging often occurring overnight since the battery capacity is not so much. For long drives, the ability to switch from all-electric power to gasoline makes it practicable to drive long distances without worrying about a sudden cutoff of power. 

Related Article: Level 1 vs. Level 2 EV Charger

Related Article: EV Charging Levels

V. How to Choose Your Right Toyota EV Charging Station?

Locating and selecting the right Toyota EV charging station can seamlessly be done if the right steps are implemented. 

Location: The Toyota app can help locate a charging station closest to you, including payment and subscription options. Additionally, the Toyota app can also help monitor the charge type at the charging stations you might be considering. Usually, level 2 (240v) charging types and Level 3 fast-charging types are accessible in different charging stations.

Compatibility: A noteworthy factor is the compatibility of your EV charging inlet to the available charging outlets at the selected charging depot. For instance, the connector must be compatible when using a level 2 fast charging outlet. Else the plug-in hybrid might not connect.

Battery Capacity: When selecting a charging station, consider the capacity of your battery, as high-capacity batteries will often need faster charging to quickly fill up the battery juice. Fortunately, the Toyota Prius Prime has a low-capacity battery which a level 1 charger can adequately serve. 

Price: A critical consideration would be the pricing of the charging station. Level 1 chargers are typically the cheapest, but they charge slowly due to their low power requirements and supply. The level 2 charger costs more than the level 1 charger, and the level 3 charger still costs more than the two chargers. So, consider your budget critically to enable you to choose a suitable charger. 

Drive Patterns: You may also want to factor in your drive pattern as longer drives may require more charging than someone who takes shorter drives and thereby charges less.

VI. Where to Buy Quality Toyota Charging Stations for Home Use?

The best method of EV charging without stress is at home, which often requires installing a wall-mounted charging point in your home. However, buying quality Toyota charging stations for home use can be another hurdle. Here are some helpful channels for finding where to acquire quality home-use charging stations.

Online Stores: Stores online are one of the easiest places to find a suitable charging station. For example, a store like Amazon has enlisted various sections of the product on its store, and EV charging solutions are one of them.

Trade Fairs and Exhibitions: If there are more reliable places to get EV charging stations, trade fairs and exhibitions remain one of them. It allows EV users to find the appropriate EV charging products for home use, have a closer look at what they’re acquiring, and get enough information on the product before purchasing.

Search Engines: This option should typically be your first option. Search engines help you with directions to the very doorstep of what you’re seeking to find. A simple search on a popular search engine like Google will produce several results for EV charging solutions and manufacturers.

VII. EV-Top Advantages for Toyota Owners

EV-Top is one of the best producers of EV charging stations, as they are known to develop some of the most sophisticated and innovative EV charging solutions. EV-Top is also a reliable, trusted, and certified supplier of EV charging options seeing they are located in one of the biggest places for suppliers of EV equipment – China. Some of the benefits EV-Top creates for Toyota users include.

• Rich Experience: With EV-Top’s wealth of experience in the EV industry, their experience is significant. And this wealth of industry experience translates to the quality of EV charging solutions they manufacture. Their EV products leave their customers asking for more.

• Top Quality: They have some of the best professionals available in the industry, and these professionals are committed to research and development and top-quality products. EV-Top’s products are internationally certified with ISO 9001:2015 quality management systems.

• Affordable Price: No other rival manufacturer of EV charging stations matches the budget-friendly price EV-Top offers. A reason its customer base continues to soar. So next time you’re shopping for EV charging tools, you might want to consider EV-Top. They are systematically situated in China’s Silicon Valley, which remains the hub of an expert workforce. They produce high-quality at low costs, thereby making products pocket-friendly to customers.

• Qualification Certificates: EV-Top possesses standard, quality, and safety qualification certificates that comply with the highest industry standards to maintain customers’ confidence and EV users of EV chargers. The certificates are CE, EN, UL, ISO, etc.

• After-sales Guarantee: EV-Top is principled to reduce the turnaround time between customers. It is also a customer-first policy that guarantees they attend to any inquiry from customers promptly before, during, and after orders are placed. 

Conclusion

In a nutshell, Toyota is one of the leading brands in the automobile industry, and its EVs have maintained a high level of performance over the years. Nonetheless, like other electric vehicles, Toyota electric vehicle owners often find locating quality charging station manufacturers difficult. This article has highlighted some practical ways and channels to find quality charging stations, including itemizing certain requirements. These requirements include budget, local charging conventions and requirements, and driving patterns. However, a reliable supplier like EV-Top must deliver these quality EV chargers. Else this might just be a futile exercise.