I was on Renault's Laguna Coupe launch in Portugal last week and overheard at the dinner table that the French manufacturer is planning to have all electric vehicles on the roads in Europe by 2012.

The conversation was sparked by Renault's team up with French-based energy company EDF.

Renault acknowledged the fact that customer won't buy electric cars until the infrastructure is there for them to charge them up.

The co-op has been created to create a national network of charging stations in France to support the cars they're going to put on sale.

It's likely power will be sold on a three tier price level based on the amount of miles you do. So you would pay in a block basis instead of paying like you would when you fill up with petrol.

I think they're on the right path with this. Until Governments and corporations work with manufacturers to integrate a support system which will encourage the use of electric vehicles, not enough customers will take the leap to switch to all electric. And if not enough people buy the cars, the price of the technology won't go down and will never be affordable enough for the average buyer.

Obviously EDF has strong links with the UK's energy industry so it's possible that if it takes off in France, maybe the idea could be imported over here?