Electric cars are nothing new. After all, some of the very first automobiles were battery-driven, not petrol-powered. Believe it or not, Porsche even made a hybrid petrol-electric car way back in 1900.
And yet electric cars have never truly taken off. Until now, that is. With all the major brands now preparing a major push into the pure-electric battery-powered market, not to mention some feisty new upstarts already showing the big boys how to do it, the age of the EV is finally upon us.
Here's our guide to some of the most exciting new electric cars due to go on sale in the next few years.
Audi
When Audi original pitched the idea of an all-electric E-tron way back in 2009, it was based on the slinky R8 supercar. Nearly a decade later the E-tron is due to finally hit the market in 2018. However, the real E-tron is no sportscar.
Instead, it's an all-electric SUV based on the same platform and similar lithium-electric go-faster bits as the Mission E project from sister brand Porsche (both Audi and Porsche are part of the megalithic VW group).
Despite being an SUV, the E-tron is still expected to offer near-supercar performance thanks to a huge battery and 500hp. Looks-wise, the E-tron quattro concept of 2015 is a good guide, as is the E-tron Sportback concept of 2017, which will itself spawn a second E-tron production model, probably in 2019.
BMW
BMW's electric-centric 'I' sub-brand, comprising the i3 and i8, was arguably ahead of its time and hasn't been a huge success. But that isn't going to stop BMW from pushing ahead with its plans to introduce now fewer than 12 pure-electric cars by 2025.
The first is likely to be the BMW i5. Previewed in September in the form of the I Vision Dynamics concepts, the i5 is a super saloon with a 400 mile range and the ability to sprint to 60mph in just four seconds thanks to multiple electric motors and an advanced lithium-ion battery pack. Look out for the i5 in 2020.
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Ford
The Blue is betting big on electric. It plans to invest no less than $11 billion by 2022 developing 40 different electric vehicles. Many of those will be hybrids, admittedly. But 16 will be pure-electric cars.
Intriguingly given Ford's status as mainly a value-orientated Brand, the company says that electrifying small, cheap cars is a money loser. So Ford will focus on making an impact with high-end EVs.
So one of its first EVs will be a high-performance SUV inspired my the Mustang sports car and called the Mach 1. Look out for the Mach 1 and the rest of Ford's electric onslaught from 2020.
Jaguar
The UK's biggest luxury car brand by volume, olde world charms like wood and leather used to be among Jaguar's signature features. But the brand is rapidly transforming itself into a cutting-edge marque.
A major step in that journey will be the I-Pace, Jag's first pure electric car. The i-Pace is a mid-sized SUV in terms of form factor and is already in the late stages of final testing, ready for a launch later this year.
Key specs are expected to be 400hp and a 300 mile range thanks to a 90kWh battery in the top spec model.
Peugeot
Peugeot dipped an early toe into the EV market with the iOn, a small hatchback that was actually a rebdaged version of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. However, in 2019 the first true Peugeot electric car goes on sale.
Based on the next-gen 208 hatchback due later this year, little more is known about the specification of the new EV.
However, Peugeot does say it's just the first in a line of 11 electric cars it plans to launch in the next five year alone.
Porsche
Arguably the biggest brand in performance motoring, it's arguably Porsche that is most feeling the pressure from upstart Tesla's foray into super-fast EVs. Porsche's response is a production version of the Mission E concept car from 2019.
The new car has been seen testing in near-final form and its spec looks impressive on paper, with a 300-mile range and big performance. At least it did until Tesla blew the market wide open with claims on 5400 mile range and 200mph performance.
Expect battle to commence between Porsche and Tesla when the production Mission E hits the road in late 2019 or early 2020.
Tesla
It's just possible that we have Tesla to thank for this new wave of electric cars. While one can question Tesla's business model, there's no doubt it has done much to popularise the idea of a big-battery electric car and to prove that electric cars can be performance icons and not jumped up milk floats.
Tesla's most affordable model yet, the Model 3, is just coming on stream now, albeit with a much slower production ramp than planned, a situation that will delay UK availability. But it's the new Roadster that's really shaking things up.
Due out in 2020, Tesla says the new Roadster will sport a 1000km or 620 mile range, accelerate to 60mph in 1.9 seconds, hit over 250mph and pack a huge 200kWh battery. If Tesla delivers on all that, it will surely shatter any notion that EVs aren't serious performance cars.
Selected others
It's not just the big brands that are planning EVs. Everybody is at it. When you consider that Aston Martin is planning an electric SUV, Rolls Royce is preparing to launch a pure-electric version of its new Phantom and even Morgan says it will release a pure-electric version of its nifty little three-wheeler, it's clear enough that the EV revolution is upon us.