Gov. Pat Quinn says he wants to make Illinois the electric vehicle capital of the United States.

Quinn appeared publicly Wednesday for the first time since he returned from a trade mission to China and Japan.

He says he had a good meeting with the CEO of Mitsubishi at that company's Tokyo headquarters, where he rode in an electric vehicle. He says he's trying to persuade the company to build its electric vehicle business in Illinois.

Mitsubishi already has a manufacturing plant in downstate Normal.

Quinn says he also visited a major company in China that builds electric vehicles to "make sure they're interested in Illinois."

He says Illinois already is "well on its way" to capitalizing on the industry with the installation of electric-vehicle charging stations around the state.