In its Electric Avenues paper, the WWF claims 6% of UK cars, or 1.7 million vehicles, would need to be electric by 2020 to meet targets required by the UK Climate Change Act. By 2030, 6.4 million EVs would be required, representing 18% of the country’s cars.

By doing so, the UK could see an 80% reduction in fuel demand by 2030, representing a £5bn cost reduction in the process. With several large scale manufacturers based in the UK, WWF said this would also support domestic industry.

But it said this was also dependent on the mileage covered by drivers, which would need to be reduced, and the way the electricity was generated. Night time charging, for example, dramatically reduced the dependency on fossil fuels.

The organisation called on governments to help with the process, which relies on an improved charging infrastructure for EV drivers, with more charging points and a upgrades to the National Grid to cope with the extra demand and remain stable.