It's 'politically correct' to say that electric cars are 'pollution free' because they are the only way car manufacturers can meet EC CO2 emissions targets. That's fine in France where electricity is generated by nuclear power, or in Norway where it's mostly hydro electricity. But in the UK most of it is generated by coal or oil-fired power stations. So, after distribution and storage losses, electric cars are less efficient and generate more CO2 than running some diesel-engined cars, especially where that diesel fuel is refined from waste vegetable matter that would otherwise merely emit methane into the atmosphere.