A decade after the December 2010 launch of the Nissan Leaf, "electric cars" (both battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids) continue to draw a disproportionate amount of media attention. But it's fair to suggest that 2010-2019 will be seen as the first era of EVs, while the 2020s will be the decade in which electric cars enter the mass market in noticeable numbers.

The battery electric vehicle (or BEV) is what most people think of when the words ‘electric car’ are used. In some ways the holy grail of vehicle electrification advocates, the BEV was a popular alternative at the turn of the 20th century. It was smooth, quiet, emitted no fumes or smoke and was ideally suited for shorter urban travels – unlike its competitors powered by either internal combustion or steam. The invention of the electric self-starter in 1912, however, put petrol-engine cars ahead of the pack – and the rest is history.

Following the presentation earlier this year of the long-awaited Model Y, now is a good time to have a look at what Tesla Incorporated might be planning next. Glenn Brooks reports.

BMW, Daimler, Ford and the Volkswagen Group are involved in a joint venture, called Ionity that is installing a high power charging network for electric vehicles across Europe. The venture is based in BMW's home city of Munich and headed by CEO Dr Michael Hajesch. We spoke to Dr Hajesch to find out more.

The MEB platform will be at the heart of VW Group's e-mobility new product strategy over the next decade. It kicks off in 2019. Volkswagen will show its ID.3, the public debut of the VW brand's first MEB architecture EV.

China is by far the world’s largest car market and shaping up to be a growth pole for electric vehicles. BYD leads the electrified vehicle market in China, but local competitor Geely has struck a JV deal with Daimler that could reinforce China’s global position as centre stage for electric vehicle manufacturing.

Whichever way you look at it, electric vehicles remain expensive and give motorists range anxiety with not much more than 100mi. between charges on many EVs. There are challenges ahead, but progress is being made.

A wave of new electric cars is on the way to market. The next twelve months will see the introduction of four vital new models.

Toyota and Subaru are again to develop a vehicle jointly but this time it's a battery electric SUV and not a niche sports car.

The global vehicle market was virtually flat in 2018 at around 94m vehicles sold, but the fourth quarter showed a near 5% year-on-year drop on the back of a similarly sized decline in Q3. The global light vehicle market continues to face challenges in 2019 after that pronounced weakening in the second half of 2019.