All-electric Range Rovers sold out for 2008

The perception of electric cars as small city runabouts with dubious safety credentials is about to be challenged following the launch in the UK of an all-electric Range Rover.

The idea of providing a zero emission 4x4 is the brainchild of UK start up Liberty Electric Cars, which is investing £30m in a business model that will initially see it re-engineer Range Rovers and Minis, replacing the engine with a battery, electric motor and drivetrain.

"People are interested in electric cars, but they don't want quadricycles, they want cars that look like cars," said Barry Shrier, chief executive at the company and a former managing director at Deutsche Bank. "They want vehicles that look and drive like standard cars, which is why we have selected the Range Rover as our flagship vehicle."

Liberty is currently being cagey about the precise nature of the battery technology that will be used to power the 2.7 tonne vehicle, but Shrier insisted that there would be no compromise in performance compared to a conventional model.

"In terms of power electric motors create high levels of torque and there are now electric vehicles on the road, like the Tesla, that are faster than some sports cars," he explained. "It is not difficult to create an electric car with better performance than a conventional model anymore; the only challenge is the energy storage, but the improvements in lithium polymer are such that range is getting better and better all the time."

He added that Liberty's re-engineered Range Rovers would boast a 200 mile range on a single charge and would also feature a fast charge option that will allow them to be recharged within 10 minutes.

Some models will also feature a range extender designed to allow the vehicle to continue to run even when the battery is flat. Shrier refused to be drawn on the precise nature of the range extender, but promised that it would be "zero carbon" raising the prospect of some sort of auxiliary fuel cell being included in the vehicle.

The company claims to be on track to produce about 100 all-electric cars this year and has a full order book up to April 2009.

Shrier insisted that the technology was resonating with customers increasingly concerned about cars' carbon emissions and fuel efficiency. He said that even assuming that the electricity used to recharge the car comes from a coal-fired power station, electric vehicles are responsible for just a third of the emissions of conventional cars. Similarly he argued that with petrol prices continuing to rise electric cars are currently 80 per cent less expensive to run.

Currently, Liberty buys in new Range Rovers and Minis, removes the engine and converts them, but Shrier said that the company was in talks with a number of car manufacturers about sourcing empty shells to which electric engines could be added. Such a deal would likely enable Liberty to bring down the cost of its vehicles, which currently range from £95,000 to £125,000.

"We've taken some flak from people claiming that this is just a toy for rich people, but all new technologies trying to take on an incumbent are inevitably expensive," he said. "Our goal is to scale up to a position where we are producing tens of thousands of vehicles a year, bringing down costs in the process."