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An electric car manufacturer admits that this type of vehicle will not become mainstream for some time.

London-based electric car company Nice - which stands for No Internal Combustion Engine - says the big car manufacturers will be reluctant to jump onboard the electric revolution.

It says the "gulf between talk and action" was highlighted at the recent British International Motor Show, where there was a noticeable lack of electric concepts or production-ready models on major car makers' stands.

Nice co-founder Evert Geurtsen said: "It's easy to get caught up in talk of an electric car revolution.

"However, we'd be very surprised if many of the all-electric sports cars … hit showrooms within forecast time frames."

One of the latest electric car offerings is the Tesla Roadster, a performance sports car developed in conjunction with Lotus.

It boasts acceleration to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and takes 16 hours to charge up from the mains.