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As excitement mounts over electric vehicles (EVs), are we ready for them? We’re told that battery technology is improving and new cars made by Peugeot, Nissan and Toyota can travel up to 80 miles before they run out – but the whole refuel process seems a little unclear.

Lord Turner, chairman of the Government’s climate change committee, says Britain has pledged to cut its CO2 emissions by 80% before 2050. For that target to be met, a massive 40% of all vehicles in Britain would have to be either electric or hybrid (powered by a combination of electricity and petrol).

Apparently, Mayor of London Boris Johnston has pledged roughly £20 million to make London the electric car capital of Europe. He plans to install 25,000 ‘juice points’ or charging stops in car parks and roadsides across the city.

If this brave blue-sky plan goes ahead, you have to ask who will install and manage the charge stations? Will the process be automated or will it be manual? How much will a fully charged battery cost me? And, how long will it take to fully juice-up my expensive hybrid motor?

If it’s down to the local authorities to stock and service these juice spots, public refuelling is doomed to failure. My council can’t be trusted with emptying my bin or filling in crater-size potholes on the high street - so there’s little chance it can cope with this.

On the flip side, if corporates take this on, the mark-up could be higher. Electricity is still quite pricey to refine – and further adding to the cost – brand new easy-to-use meters will be needed to handle the surge in demand of electronic fuel.

I’m also slightly paranoid we could spend many evenings in the dark. Get ready for regular blackouts - all this electricity has to come from the central grid. It’s going to be cheaper to recharge after 5pm so every Tom, Dick and Harry with an EV will be re-juicing when they get home after work. Good times!

Don’t get me wrong – we need to consider alternative fuels for motoring – but I’m struggling to see a hassle-free solution.

Do you agree with Joe? Where do you stand on the rollout of electric vehicles?