In the next year or so electric cars, or zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) as they are sometimes called, will be an everyday sight on streets right across the globe. The stuff of science fiction novels will have become science fact.

Basic electric cars are already for sale to car owners in many parts of the world and are ready to become significantly more sophisticated and widespread in the next few years.

The concept of an electric car is nothing new, it has been around for decades. That said, the urgent need to decrease carbon emissions in the fight to slow global warming has accelerated the development of the next generation of road transport.

Consumer electric cars and ZEVs are already being produced and will soon be widely available in car dealers around the world. We are already familiar with hybrid vehicles, which have been available for many years. These cars alternate between electric and gasoline propulsion to help reduce emissions. Electric cars take eco-friendly motoring to the next level, in that they have no emissions whatsoever – they don’t even have a tail pipe. The benefits of this are likely to be dramatic, particularly in polluted heavily populated areas, as electric vehicles and ZEVs become common.

So how does the electric car function? Electric vehicles use electric motors and motor controllers rather than the conventional internal combustion engine. Instead of standard gasoline, these vehicles are powered by electricity from batteries, although cutting edge methods of energy storage are being developed that will probably replace batteries in the not too distant future. Even now, special refilling stations for the electric vehicle revolution are springing up on roadsides around the world where motorists can pull in and refuel their electric vehicles, just like at a normal filling station.

That said, for many motorists, the transition from the standard gasoline car that we all know and love to electric vehicles and ZEVs will require a huge leap of faith. However, electric cars have so many things going for them that the transition should be a pretty painless one.

Running costs – The fact that electric vehicles are more economical to run and cost less to keep on the road will likely win over their strongest detractors. Car owners will get a lot more miles for their money and the cost of maintaining these cars is set to be much cheaper than servicing a normal car.

The environment – As electric vehicles become more common, the benefits to the environment will be very significant. This is particularly true in large urban areas where smog and air pollution at street level presents a grave health hazard to people.

A few concerns do remain over electric vehicles, such as the length of time it takes to recharge batteries, the top speeds and acceleration of the vehicles, and issues such as handling and performance. However, as car manufacturers invest more and more cash into fine tuning these vehicles, these concerns are likely to be ironed out sooner rather than later.