Gloucestershire car retailers have supported Government claims that electric cars will be as cheap as petrol and diesel vehicles by 2025.

Transport minister Rachel Maclean told the Transport Select Committee that lower-cost batteries and tax breaks would rapidly make electric models affordable for ordinary motorists.

Matt Cleevely, of Cleevely Motors in Cheltenham, told Punchline: "We have been forecasting in the industry for a long time that cost parity is coming.

"At the moment, the cost of batteries is high but the point we have been trying to get across is that the total cost of ownership is much lower. There's lower depreciation, lower fuel cost and zero tax.

"We've been saying to people, don't wait for cost parity, look at the cost of ownership."

Marc Warner, of Warners Motor Group, with branches in Gloucester and Tewkesbury, told Punchline: "As the technology becomes more widely available, the price will naturally come down.

"More and more people are opting for electric. They make up about 30% of our sales now.

"Maintenance costs are much less, so during the lifetime of the vehicle you will probably see this outweighs the extra cost of purchase."

Rachel Maclean, Transport Minister, told the select committee: "Prices of these vehicles are coming down all the time and the batteries are improving, meaning it's viable for an average family to buy a vehicle such as this for their day-to-day needs.

"Once you factor in fuel costs and tax incentives such as benefit in kind, we expect the total cost of ownership to reach parity during the 2020s.

"We can't put our finger on it but we do expect it to be in the mid-2020s - some studies suggest it is around 2025."

The high price of new electric cars is seen as a major barrier for widespread take-up. The Government is preparing to ban new petrol and diesel sales in 2030.

A petrol Vauxhall Corsa, for instance - one of Britain's bestselling cars - costs from about £16,000. But the cheapest electric version is over £26,000.