DUNDEE has much to be proud of from its early domination of the jute sacking and marmalade industries, to the invention of the radio, the light bulb, aspirin, adhesive stamps, Frankenstein, the Grand Theft Auto games, and literary giants such as the Beano and Dandy. There’s a famous cake, as well.

However it’s not stopped there as they now embrace electric vehicles and show the rest of us the way. While sales nationally doubled in 2015, Dundee is one of eight cities that is making the most of the opportunities available, by agreeing that a taxi firm should run thirty vehicles, Nissan Leafs, that are all electric.

The council has installed fast charging points to make this possible, as well as in their own municipal car parks where entry, parking and battery charging are free for all electric vehicles.

The government is investing up to £600 million to extend such facilities by 2020, and the first £40 million has been shared by Dundee, Bristol, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Oxford, York, Derby and London as part of the Go Ultra-Low City Scheme.

They will all install charging points in car parks, allow free parking and permit all electric vehicles to use bus lanes.

The next ten years should show a quite remarkable increase in the number of electric cars. Not only are they encouraged by free parking, minimal cost battery charging, access to bus lanes, no vehicle excise duty, low maintenance and repair costs but battery technology is showing steady improvements.

A range of 500 miles should suit most drivers by 2025, and the impact on the wider world will be considerable.

There will be cleaner air, with fewer emission particulates and the reduction in the amount of CO2 should start to show, and the sooner the better for the air we breathe and the temperatures we endure.