Yesterday Nissan announced plans to build a factory in Sunderland to supply batteries for a new generation of affordable electric cars, creating up to 350 new jobs.
And in 2012 the Japanese manufacturer is expected to build a new electric model at its car plant nearby, which would create hundreds of extra jobs and safeguard thousands more.
In the pipeline ... Ampera saloon Vauxhall plan to build
The Nissan move follows Toyota's decision last week to start building an electric/hybrid version of its Auris hatchback at its plant in Burnaston, Derbys, next year.
Vauxhall could complete a hat-trick of electric/hybrid models being built in the UK if it gets the go-ahead to build its new Ampera saloon at the Ellesmere Port factory on Merseyside.
Meanwhile the Government has confirmed that from 2011 it will offer motorists cash incentives of £2,000 to £5,000 to buy electric or hybrid cars.
And it is working with car firms, energy companies and local authorities to set up a nationwide network of city recharging points by 2012.
But to succeed, the cars must be reasonably priced, so Nissan and its partner, Renault, are promising an "affordable" range of electric vehicles to go on sale in Europe by 2011/12.
Next month Nissan will reveal pictures of its family-sized electric car, with a 100-mile range, which it says will be on sale in 2011, while sources say its Nuvu concept is a possible electric city car of the near future.
Electric cars have been around for the last century and have frequently been hailed as the future, yet they have never fully delivered.
However, it now seems that for the first time car makers and governments are determined to make it happen.
