http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/04/15/plugging-in-the-car-of-the-future/

Excerpts:

So why the holdup? The challenge in designing electric vehicles “has historically been the battery,” says Gitanjali DasGupta, manager of electric vehicles for Electrovaya, which will supply Chrysler with batteries for the Ram. Cars need space for “luggage, kids and groceries, but the larger the battery, the further you go electrically.” Advances in lithium batteries—which helped make cellphones and computers smaller and sleeker—are making plug-in vehicles possible, DasGupta says.