In one attractive EV hybrid package, the Holden badged Chevrolet Volt solved range anxiety, the number one impediment to EV sales.

It was a plug-in EV with a 16.5kWh battery good for 87 kilometres of EV driving. Despite this distance being double the daily average for an Aussie, people were always going to be nervous about the range... but the designers had an ace up their sleeve.

In 1903, Russia produced a ship that used a new concept for propulsion; the following year the Swedish Navy followed suit and by 1918 the US had a train using the same method of producing motion. Use a diesel engine to spin a generator to produce electricity to drive an electric motor.

The Holden Volt copied this concept. As soon as the battery was depleted, a 1.4-litre petrol engine automatically started and drove a generator to continue to power the car.

The small fuel tank was good enough for another 550 kilometres of driving. Unfortunately the Volt was a complete flop and the Volt I drove was one of only 250 on the roads in Australia. Ahead of its time?

The latest announcement by Nissan suggests so.

Nissan already has a full EV with the Nissan LEAF (we have one parked in our driveway) but range anxiety is still limiting sales. Enter the Nissan e-Power concept. Experience the instant response of an electric motor while a 1.5-litre petrol engine provides the power. This is not a plug-in model - instead it is a petrol-electric drivetrain.

The wheels are only ever driven by electric motors and the engine is only ever used to generate electricity. There is no mechanical link between the petrol engine and the wheels. This makes the drivetrain simpler and driving feels smooth with high torque from standstill just like an electric vehicle. While personally I would like to see higher focus on pure EVs, I am pragmatic enough to understand that for many, the leap to a full EV might be a step too far. This is a gateway solution.

The latest figures from worldwide sales for the first half of this year show that progress is being made - but this country needs a boost.

EV sales increased by 160 per cent year on year. In China, 12 per cent of all cars sold were EVs while European sales hit 15 per cent. Norway is leading the charge at 80 per cent of new car sales while Australia is still languishing in the fumes of ICE at only 0.8 per cent.

Maybe the e-Power will start to turn these figures around.

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