EVgo Just Opened LA's Biggest Non-Tesla Charging Station — And It Still Has CHAdeMO Plugs

EVgo has switched on what it says is the largest non-Tesla fast charging station in the City of Los Angeles — 10 stalls, 20 plugs, and up to 350 kilowatts on the fastest ones. That alone is worth noting in a city where finding a free, working DC fast charger at 5 p.m. can feel like a competitive sport. But the detail that made this site interesting to us is the one almost nobody expected in 2026: two of those plugs are CHAdeMO.

Yes, CHAdeMO. The connector the industry has been quietly writing obituaries for. EVgo built a brand-new flagship station and still reserved space for the plug on the back of a 2015 Nissan Leaf.

What EVgo actually built

The new site sits on S Robertson Blvd in Mid-City, just off the Santa Monica Freeway — a central, busy corridor where you can plug in and then go grab a meal, run errands, or knock out a grocery trip. EVgo specifically notes the station is within walking distance of restaurants, grocery stores, and shopping, which matters more than spec sheets do when you're 25 minutes into a session.

The power is spread across the stalls rather than dumped evenly, which is smart site design:

• Two 100 kW stalls — these are the CHAdeMO-capable ones
• Three 200 kW stalls
• Five 350 kW stalls
• 18 CCS cables total, plus 2 CHAdeMO cables

Ten stalls, 20 plugs. For context on EVgo's footprint, the Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center lists the network at 1,175 fast charging stations and 5,185 public ports nationwide. Most of them support Plug & Charge, meaning the session starts automatically once you plug in, as long as a payment method is on file in your account. No app fumbling, no tap-to-pay roulette.

A single site with 350 kW peaks and a CHAdeMO cable is a strange combination — and a genuinely welcome one. It says the network isn't only chasing new-car buyers.

Why the CHAdeMO plugs are a bigger deal than they look

CHAdeMO is the DC fast charging standard used by the two previous generations of the Nissan Leaf, along with some Japanese-built plug-in hybrids like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Those cars are now some of the cheapest used EVs in America — which means they're frequently owned by drivers who bought an EV specifically because it was affordable, and who may not have home charging at all.

Meanwhile the rest of the industry has sprinted toward CCS and NACS. New stations rarely bother with CHAdeMO anymore, and existing CHAdeMO cables are being quietly retired. For an older Leaf owner, the map of usable fast chargers has been shrinking year over year. Two 100 kW CHAdeMO cables at a brand-new flagship station in the middle of LA is a real, practical win for those drivers.

One important caution the article raises, and it's worth repeating loudly: going the other direction — using a CHAdeMO adapter on a CCS station — is very expensive and is not recommended by the CHAdeMO association. If your car has a CHAdeMO port, your realistic strategy is still to find CHAdeMO cables, not to adapter your way onto CCS hardware.

No NACS cables here — and why that's fine

If you drive a Tesla, or one of the many new EVs that now ship with a NACS port, you'll notice something missing: there are no NACS cables at this station. Every fast plug here is CCS, apart from the two CHAdeMO units.

In practice that's a non-issue, but only if you're carrying the right hardware. NACS-equipped EVs can charge at CCS stations using an adapter, and that adapter is the single highest-value item you can keep in a Tesla frunk right now. The Supercharger network is excellent, but it isn't everywhere, and a site like this — 350 kW, 10 stalls, walkable amenities, central location — is exactly the kind of place you'd want to use if the nearby Supercharger is full.

The flip side is also happening. EVgo is one of the few networks that has started installing actual Tesla Superchargers at its sites, using V4 dispensers rated up to 500 kW at 1,000 volts, automatically integrated into Tesla's in-app navigation. NACS plugs are being added to existing EVgo stations too. The connector wars are slowly resolving into "most stations will eventually have both," but we are very much still in the messy middle — and the messy middle is where adapters earn their keep.

What this means for your charging kit

The takeaway from this station isn't really about Los Angeles. It's that the American charging landscape is now genuinely mixed, and the drivers who never get stranded are the ones who carry two or three small things in the trunk.

• Carry a CCS adapter if you drive NACS. Stations like this one are CCS-only, and a NACS to CCS adapter turns every one of EVgo's 5,185 ports into a viable option instead of a plug you drive past. Browse the full adapters collection to match your car's port.
• Set up Plug & Charge before you need it. Add a payment method to your EVgo account now. Discovering a billing problem at 12% state of charge is an avoidable kind of bad day.
• Don't rely on public DC for daily charging. Even a 350 kW stall costs far more per kWh than charging overnight at home. A proper Level 2 unit like the AC Lite Home 40A EV charger covers a typical day's driving while you sleep, and the AC Pro 80A 19.2 kW unit handles big packs like the Cybertruck's. See the full EV chargers lineup.
• Keep your cable off the ground. Public cables are heavy and filthy; your home cable shouldn't be. A charging cable organizer keeps the connector clean and the cord out of the garage walkway.
• Know your stall before you pull in. At this site, the 100 kW stalls and the 350 kW stalls look similar from the driver's seat. If your car can take 250 kW, taking a 100 kW stall roughly doubles your stop. Check the label first.

The bottom line

Twenty plugs, 350 kW peaks, and a walkable location just off the 10 make this a legitimately useful addition to LA's charging map — and the two CHAdeMO cables are a small, low-cost act of inclusion for drivers of cheap used EVs who need the help most.

For everyone else, the lesson is the same one the last two years keep teaching: the network is expanding fast, but it isn't standardizing as fast as it's growing. Until it does, the right adapter in the frunk is the difference between "there's a charger here" and "there's a charger here I can actually use."