The prime minister said that by 2020 he would like all new cars sold in Britain to be electric or hybrid vehicles, which produce less than 100 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre, which may interest car insurance customers.

Mr. Brown was speaking at the G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan and told delegates that he believes the shift to electric vehicles is essential in tackling climate change, suggesting he may impose more tax on petrol cars in order to persuade drivers to give them up.

He said: "I genuinely think that this new technology - hybrids and so on - [can be] adopted widely to the benefit of the ordinary family, to change the family car and make it far more energy efficient."

Motoring organisations, such as the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) have claimed that taxes alone will not persuade drivers to adopt greener vehicles.

A spokesperson for the ETA has claimed that, for most drivers, electric and hybrid cars are an expensive and impractical alternative to petrol and diesel models.

The representative for the body has also said that although many government ministers have use of a Toyota Prius hybrid car, the price tag of £18,000 is "out of reach" for most people.

Higher motoring taxes, the ETA says, will not persuade Brits to change to greener cars if "the market is not ready" and claimed that if all drivers were to switch to electric cars today, the national grid would not be able to cope.

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