Oregon Public Broadcasting

The carmaker Nissan announced Wednesday that it’s forming a partnership with Oregon -- to build a network of electric car charging stations up and down the I-5 corridor. Kristian Foden-Vencil reports.

The announcement was made at the Los Angeles Auto Show by Nissan director of product planning, Mark Perry.

Mark Perry: “It’s a big deal for Oregon on a couple of fronts. One, it signals that Oregon’s a leader. And to walk into meetings and have people with shared visions across many different departments has been extremely refreshing.”

Governor Kulongoski is on a trade mission in Japan, where he helped put the finishing touches to the deal. He says the agreement brings the state one step closer to having a consistent and reliable infrastructure to re-charge electric cars.

Portland General Electric has installed six charging stations over the last several months.

Nissan has made similar agreements with Israel, Denmark, Portugal and the State of Tennessee, where it has a factory.