The question of what kind of people would be willing to buy electric cars is to be investigated by experts in Aberdeen.

It is thought battery-powered and hybrid vehicles could play a major role in reducing carbon emissions in the future.

The University of Aberdeen's Centre for Transport Research has been awarded funding by the UK Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) to explore the potential market.

The outcomes of the study will feed into ETI's plans for the world's most extensive evaluation of consumer's attitudes to plug-in vehicles.

The study will investigate how much people would be willing to pay, how it would fit into their current travel patterns and potential consumer anxiety towards the new technology.

Identifying the types of people who are most likely to become early adopters of electric vehicles - such as the plug-in car - will also be a key focus of the research.

Dr Jillian Anable who is leading the Aberdeen study said: "Identifying the key factors which will influence consumers to purchase electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be crucial to successfully rolling out the concept to the wider market.

"Our research will focus on building a profile of the types of people who would buy this kind of vehicle - from their attitudes, through to their age groups and whether they live rurally or in the city. We also need to understand whether people might use these vehicles differently to the ones they own now.

"The practicalities of using an electric vehicle will be explored looking at, for example, how long people are willing to wait for the vehicle to charge and whether they are most likely to charge them at home, at the supermarket or at work.

"We hope our research - which will take place throughout the UK - will identify the type of person who may become an early or future adopter of the technology."