ONE in every 100 new cars purchased in Scotland this year was an electric or hybrid, as sales of green vehicles hit an all-time high.

The number of brand new carbon-friendly vehicles snapped up in showrooms has almost doubled in the last three years, new figures show.

Statistics provided by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd (SMMT) reveal that 2,218 electric and hybrid cars were newly registered north of the Border by mid-November this year, up more than 41 per cent on 2013 and an 84 per cent increase compared to 2011.

Sales of pure electric vehicles have seen the biggest spike, with a five-fold boost in sales from 70 in 2011 to 378 this year.

Total new car sales over the period were 193,305.

The surge means that plug-in vehicles now account for more than one per cent of the total new car market in Scotland, which - like the UK as a whole - finally returned to pre-credit crunch levels this year in a development hailed by analysts as a bellwether of economic recovery.

The increasing popularity of zero and low emissions vehicles has been credited to a flurry of new models coming on the market over the last three years as manufacturers including BMW, Porsche and Nissan compete for green buyers.

Consumers can now choose from 20 different electric and hybrid models compared to just six in 2011.

Topping up electric vehicles has also become easier following a surge in free public charge points, from around 300 in September 2013 to more than 600 now, located as far afield as Shetland and Stranraer.

Homeowners, businesses and organisations such as universities can also apply for 100 per cent funding from the Energy Saving Trust to install a charge point outside their home or premises.

Stephen Rennie, programme manager for the Energy Saving Trust in Scotland, said they have installed 150 domestic charge points to date in Scotland and anticipated "large year-on-year growth" in the market from now on.

Mr Rennie said: "For the first adopters [of electric vehicles], it was combined with a general interest in the technology. So these tended to be people who had renewable technology in their house as well rather than just people looking to save money.

"But to stimulate uptake in the mainstream market, it's the cost savings we tend to emphasise. We're starting to see a lot more interest for example from taxi firms who are selling electric vehicles to their members on the basis that it could save them £5,000-£6,000 a year in fuel.

"It's definitely becoming far less niche."

The Scottish Government has set a target for the near complete decarbonisation of road transport by 2050 by encouraging the switch to plug-in vehicles.

However, one of the main drawbacks for most consumers remains the hefty price tag.

Recent additions to the market include the electric-only BMW i3, which can travel 80 to 100 miles before needing re-charged, and its sister model the BMW i3 Range Extender, which comes with an on-board petrol-powered generator which kicks in to supply additional electricity once the battery runs flat.

Prices for the i3 start around £29,950 or £33,100 for the Range Extender version, although motorists can claim up to £5,000 in Government grants to help with the purchase.

A 100 per cent electric Nissan Leaf comes in at around £26,000 for a top-of-the-range model or £16,000 basic.

Charging is also more time consuming that filling up at a petrol forecourt. A full charge, even with Transport Scotland's new superfast chargers, will take around an hour. A basic 40amp charger could take as long as eight hours, depending on the vehicle.

Dave Gunn, an expert in sustainable transport at the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation (ECCI), said prices were coming down as more mainstream manufacturers joined the green car bandwagon.

He predicted that the market would eventually be dominated by cars run on hydrogen fuel cells, which emit only water vapour.

"I think that's the way personal travel will go," he said. "You've got zero emissions and the fill up time is the same as a petrol car. The problem at the moment is we don't have the infrastructure - the hydrogen charge points. But the UK Government is starting to look at that."

In October, the UK Government announced £5.5 million investment to create up to 15 hydrogen refuelling stations UK-wide. It coincided with the launch of the Hyundai ix35 in the UK, the first hydrogen-fuelled car to go on in Britain.

A spokeswoman for Transport Scotland said the Government had invested £10m so far developing the ChargePlace Scotland network.

She added: "The Scottish Government will continue to develop this network to cater for the growth in electric vehicle ownership, with a key aspiration being to provide high powered rapid charge points at 35 mile intervals across routes connecting Scotland's towns and cities."