Exclusive: Inside the electric car that could lead Yorkshire's charge into the future (with video)

But lift up the bonnet and it all starts to get a little strange – for the C1 Ev'ie is one of the UK's first 'proper' electric cars.

And now they could become a regular sight on the roads of Yorkshire which is bidding to be a regional centre for next generation electric cars.

As Japanese giant Nissan prepares to begin production next year on the UK's first mass-produced all-electric car, regional planners have put together a multi-million pound bid for Government funding to install hundreds of charging points across the region.

Supermarkets, motorway service stations, car parks, shopping centres and other key locations will host the new charging points if the 6m bid is successful.

By installing some 700 plug-in sockets in towns and cities, planners hope to break the vicious circle which stops people buying electric cars because there is nowhere to charge them, and retailers from installing charging points because so few people have electric vehicles.

The bid is being masterminded by CO2Sense Yorkshire, an off-shoot of regional development agency Yorkshire Forward focused on reducing the region's carbon emissions.

Project manager Nicole Ballantyne said: "People are reluctant to buy electric cars unless they know that they'll be able to recharge them at their destination.

"So we aim to set up a network of charging points in the main cities in Yorkshire, so that anyone will be able to drive from Sheffield to Leeds, York or Hull, knowing that they will be able to recharge their cars once they arrive."

Following huge technological advances electric cars are now seen as a viable choice for the future as they emit almost no carbon emissions at all.

They are also incredibly cheap to run, being exempt from road tax and costing little more than a pound to fully charge. Indeed, "filling up" at the new charging points will be entirely free for the first few years.

Their main limitation is that they can currently only travel around 100 miles before requiring re-charging – with a full charge taking at least four hours.

Industry experts say most people will re-charge at home overnight and that 100 miles is more than sufficient for the vast majority of everyday journeys – but accept drivers will also want to top-up whilst out and about.

"It's a case of changing our habits," said Matthew Lumsden, managing director of consultancy firm Future Transport Systems, which is working with CO2Sense on its bid. "Most people spend at least an hour in the supermarket, and longer at a retail park.

Electric car owners will simply plug them in to charging points in the car parks, and the cars will be topped up by the time they've finished shopping."

CO2Sense is putting forward its bid for charging point-funding with a number of as-yet unnamed private firms – likely to include major retailers – who will put forward half the money.

If successful, the rest will come from a 30m government pot set up by Labour late last year. London, Milton Keynes and the North-East have already put together successful bids.

If Yorkshire is successful, work could start by the end of the year and planners are optimistic. Ms Ballantyne said. "With our motorway network – the M1, M62 and M18, we have transport corridors running north to south and east to west.

"It's the ideal region to encourage people to use electric cars to get around."