Government aims to makes UK leader in electric cars

The £500m investment plan includes R&D and installation of charge points

The investment, which will be rolled out between 2015 and 2020, includes £100 million for research and development of these technologies. The government said the investment will help create skilled British jobs.

A further £32 million will be used to install rapid charging points across motorways and A-road networks by 2020. Rapid charge points mean that a car can be charged in as little as 20 minutes.

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said: "Our economy is growing thanks to sectors like our thriving automotive industry that are helping repair and rebalance the economy, building a fairer society for this generation and the next.

"The UK has the potential to emerge as a world leader in the development, design and manufacture of green vehicles."

Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, added: "Ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) bring together our most successful manufacturing sectors with our biggest long-term challenge - climate change.

"Britain can be the leading country in the world in developing, manufacturing and using ULEVs. This half billion pound government investment will help to ensure we rise to the challenge."

The investment plan also includes an extension of the government scheme to provide grants of up to £5,000 towards the cost of an electric vehicle.