London

ELECTRIC vehicles aren't going to destroy the fossil fuel industry any time soon, but they don't need to in order to disrupt it. And that could happen within a decade, when EVs begin to tip annual growth in petrol demand into structural decline.

The sceptics argue that the barriers to mass takeup of electric vehicles are insurmountable and that recent enthusiasm among proponents of the technology - and some European governments - is misplaced. High costs of ownership, limited range, lack of refuelling infrastructure are among many drawbacks that will limit their adoption, and thus the power of electricity to replace petrol.