Magne Charge is a largely obsolete inductive charging

Inductive charging

Inductive charging uses an electromagnetic field to transfer energy between two objects. This is usually done with a charging station. Energy is sent through inductive coupling to an electrical device, which then can use that energy to charge batteries....

 system, also known as J1773, used to charge battery electric vehicle

Battery electric vehicle

A battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of electric vehicle that uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of, or in addition to, internal combustion engines for propulsion.A battery-only electric vehicle or...

s (BEV) formerly made by General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

, for vehicles such as the EV1

General Motors EV1

The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by the General Motors Corporation from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker, and the first GM car designed to be an electric vehicle from the...

, Chevy S10 EV, and other electric vehicles. It was produced by the General Motors subsidiary Delco Electronics

Delco Electronics

Delco Electronics Corporation was the automotive electronics design and manufacturing subsidiary of General Motors based in Kokomo, Indiana.The name Delco came from the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co., founded in Dayton, Ohio by Charles Kettering and Edward A...

. It is still used by a few hundred first generation Toyota RAV4 EV electric vehicles. As these first generation Toyota RAV4 EV electric vehicles retire from the roadways, Magne Charge will be completely obsolete since no existing or future electric vehicles can use it. The 2012 Gen 2 RAV4 EV, as well as the Nissan Leaf

Nissan Leaf

Nissan introduced its first battery electric vehicle, the Nissan Altra at the Los Angeles International Auto Show on 29 December 1997. The Altra EV was produced between 1998 and 2002, only about 200 vehicles were ever produced, and it was mainly used as a fleet vehicle for companies such as...

 and Chevrolet Volt

Chevrolet Volt

The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle manufactured by General Motors. The Volt has been on sale in the U.S. market since mid-December 2010, and is the most fuel-efficient compact car sold in the United States, as rated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency...

, use J1772 instead of the obsolete Magne Charge.

Level 2 most common was the 6.6 kW version. Level 3 higher power 50 kW  fast charge versions were demonstrated.

This charger was unique in that its charge port used an inductive charge paddle, of which there were two sizes, a small and large paddle.
The system was designed to be safe even when used in the rain, and was demonstrated in operation fully submerged in water. These are often referred on electric vehicle charging station maps as SPI and LPI stations for Small Paddle Inductive and Large Paddle Inductive stations.

Magne Charge support was withdrawn by General Motors in 2002,
after the California Air Resources Board

California Air Resources Board

The California Air Resources Board, also known as CARB or ARB, is the "clean air agency" in the government of California. Established in 1967 in the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air Sanitation and the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board, CARB is a department within the...

settled on a conductive charging interface for electric vehicles in California in June, 2001.
It has also been referred to as Magne-Charge and MagneCharge.

External links

• EV Charger News Public charger locations and other EV charger info