Electric cars 'may be costlier than petrol vehicles'

Motorists considering buying an electric car are being warned that they can be more expensive to run than conventional petrol vehicles.

Nissan is due to start taking UK orders for what it says will be the world's first mass-produced electric car.

It says running costs for the Nissan Leaf will be as low as 1p a mile.

But figures given to the BBC by a rival car firm suggest that over three years, electric cars could be more expensive to run than their petrol equivalents.

The figures come from the Japanese car-maker Mitsubishi, which also produces an electric car.

Brian Milligan reports.