Most will plug into a standard three-pin socket, but that’s a slow and tedious way of topping up your van. A dedicated charger for your home or yard will make overnight charges simple, cheap and easy, and these can be installed for very little - and are often free. On the road, rapid chargers simply plug in as easily as you’d pump diesel, although there are an array of payment options. Most accept simple contactless card payments (or will do soon) though.

This depends on the size of the battery pack, but even the largest - currently the 75kWh van family from Citroen, Peugeot, Toyota and Vauxhall, can take an 80% charge in just 45 minutes, enough for another 164 miles of motoring.

As a general rule, the larger the battery pack, the longer the range. Batteries are measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) with the 37.3kWh Volkswagen ABT e-Transporter having an official range of just 83 miles, against the 75kWh Vauxhall Vivaro-e’s 205 miles.

Generally, yes. There are far fewer things to go wrong, so servicing is often cheaper and quicker, keeping you on the road for longer. Tax savings can be significant, and every electric van avoids being clobbered by congestion charges and low emission zone fees. Of course, electricity is also far cheaper than diesel - even an expensive home tariff will see your fuel bills cut by more than half. Expect to pay around 5p per mile covered.

Every electric van operates like an automatic, although technically there aren’t any gears at all - the electric motor simply spins faster if you want to go more quickly.

Yes. Most electric vans are rated for towing, with some able to pull loads as heavy as a tonne.