It could take a while, but out will go the Texas oil men and the oil-rich Arab sheikhs and in will come the Kiwi electricity companies turning water, wind and sunshine into fuel for our cars.
Mark Price traverses the beginnings of the shift from petrol to electric in what could be the biggest transport upheaval since the demise of the horse and cart.
It was quite a nice tag line for a new car: ''The future has arrived''.
But that was three and a half years ago, and ''the future'' is now history.
''The future'' was Mitsubishi's all-electric ''Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle'', or i-MiEV, which was launched in New Zealand on Monday, July 25, 2011.
The company rightly claimed a place in history as ''the first automotive distributor to sell mass-produced electric cars to the New Zealand public''.
Head of sales and marketing strategy Daniel Cook described the moment as ''a proud day for our company''.''
It is not often you have the opportunity to make a significant impact on history,'' he said.
The $59,990 i-MiEV had a range of 150km and could be recharged in seven hours at a cost of $5.
But the car's impact on history was not significant enough to warrant Mitsubishi continuing to import it, and earlier last year the i-MiEV quietly disappeared from the country's new car showrooms.
Mr Cook told the Otago Daily Times while the company had ''reasonable success'' with the i-MiEV, the car had ''quite a hefty price premium'' and the level of demand ''precluded it from being suitable'' for the New Zealand market.
Mr Cook has been left with reservations about the suitability of all-electric cars for New Zealand and is now more interested in promoting the company's plug-in hybrid Outlander SUV, which has both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine.
He believes all-electric cars are unlikely to be a ''mass-market solution'' for New Zealand and is picking hybrids will be the dominant force 10 years from now ''simply because it's such a good technology''.
''A pure electric car is always going to have range limitations.
''For a market like New Zealand that's simply not practical.''
Alexandra electric car salesman Terry Stewart is no fan of the i-MiEV.
Too small, he says.
''Like a little bubble.''
But when it comes to electric cars in general he is sold.
''This is the way of the future.''
Mr Stewart is a major supplier of second-hand electric cars having imported 40 Nissan Leafs.
His biggest client is Northpower, based in Whangarei, the city describing itself as the ''electric vehicle capital'' of the country.
It even has a public fast-charging station that tops up, free of charge, a car such as a Leaf in less than half an hour.
In contrast to the demand for electric vehicles in the North Island, Mr Stewart says he has sold only six or seven in the South Island.
But he is talking to ''big bodies'' about fleet cars and they are ''all reviewing it and looking to put it into the budget for next year''.
Mr Stewart, who drives a Leaf and also owns a V8 Holden, says from what he's read, the internal combustion engine will be ''all gone'' in 10 years.
Early adopters
Brave early adopters of electric cars are already coping a degree of abuse in certain quarters.
Take Kiwiblog and an offering from ''Rich Prick'' who describes electric cars as having appeal only to ''greenies and self-absorbed celebrities'' and as ''an expensive and inconvenient way to feel smug''.''
Redbaiter'' writes electric cars are suitable for ''urban liberals in New Zealand who only have themselves, their `partner' and a pair of designer Shar-Peis to cart around.''
And fans of comedians Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett might remember their electric car joke, that they are ''only good for short circuits''.
You might expect similar comments from those whose lives - not to mention incomes - revolve around the power, the smell, the noise and the drama of large petrol engines.
But, as it turns out, electric power gets nothing but respect from Cromwell's Highlands Motorsport Park manager Mike Sentch, who expects to see electric cars racing at the park in the not too distant future.''
There will be a day when it becomes commonplace, I think.''
He points to the international FIA Formula E Championship race series already attracting some big-name drivers from Formula One.
Mr Sentch believes those who enjoy tinkering with cars in their backyards have an opportunity with electric motors no longer available with petrol engines.
''It's surprising how many people in New Zealand are trying to develop electric cars.
''Electric cars are something anybody can have a crack at.''
The big companies haven't sort of trumped everyone and there's probably another 10 ways to make electric cars run better and have more performance.
''So I think that's an attraction for a lot of people.''
Nathan Bloxham, of Luggate, is one of those people.
He's a Burt Munro backyard, do-it-yourself mechanic with electricity rather than petrol running through his veins.
He has just taken delivery of his first ''drift cart'' an electric vehicle he has designed and is still developing in the hope it can be turned into an all-electric Wanaka tourist business.
The cart is powered by the same sort of Chinese-made ''Golden Motor'' that drives each of the wheels of many larger electric vehicles.
''Most people see electric things being underpowered, a little more on the lame side or the forgiving side.
''But not this thing.
''It's up there with the top-end motorbikes.''
Mr Bloxham already has an electric-bike business and hopes to build a solar-powered electric boat.
''If I was made of money I'd do it, just to be different and show you can do it another way.
''The price of fuel's climbing, it's quite taxing on the world, so if we can all be thinking of alternative ways to get around, that could help a lot.''
Mr Bloxham said his aim was to create a business to fund his electric dreams.
He plans to do that through fun, ''which I feel is a very powerful tool''.
''I'm not battling the guy with the big truck or the big car or whatever.
''I'm battling at the fun level.''
Infrastructure
The country's 400 or so electric cars cause barely a blip on electricity meters at present.
But even if the entire light vehicle fleet of around 2.5 million was to make the change from petrol to electricity, there would be few infrastructure problems.
Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles executive director Rob McEwen told the Otago Daily Times the entire fleet would use as much electricity as the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.
But, he said, New Zealand had ''plenty of capacity on the grid to accommodate electric vehicle charging''.
The main issue would be owners all wanting to charge their batteries around 6pm, which is ''peak load'' time for the system.
In 2010, the New Zealand Centre for Advanced Engineering took a close look at such things as ''harmonic effects'', ''voltage drop effects'' and ''power system reserves requirements'' from adding demand for electric vehicle charging to the electricity system.
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority transport general manager Elizabeth Yeaman summarises the centre's 68-page technical report thus:''It basically says, even in the highest rate of [electric] vehicle uptake we could imagine happening - so it's effectively like a stress test - electric vehicles will not require any new fossil generation.''
They will only require a small bit of new generation to be built which essentially can all be met by wind energy.''
And, because electric cars would be charged mostly at night, they would use hydro, wind and geothermal electricity that would otherwise be ''wasted''.''
Electric vehicles offer an opportunity to be able to use that energy that is otherwise wasted, which helps to make the whole system more efficient.''
Ms Yeaman said overseas electricity companies offered cheaper night rates for electricity to encourage people to charge their cars at that time and, she said, Mercury Energy was already offering a night tariff here, with a 30% discount for owners of electric cars.
In November, Mighty River Power chief executive Fraser Whineray announced his company was converting about 70% of its fleet to electric - some all-electric, some hybrid.''
The technology, performance and costs of plug-in vehicles are changing rapidly.''
Where EVs were an odd and impractical proposition a few years ago,'' he said, ''there are now some excellent models on the market.''
''This will be a game-changer.''
History
A thoroughly new and modern phenomenon the electric car definitely is not.
The first battery-powered electric vehicle was trundling along a track in Scotland a decade before the first settlers arrived in Dunedin.
Even further back, in 1828, Hungarian Anyos Jedlik created a small electric-powered model car.
In 1898, the electric Jeantaud Duc car set the first land speed record (63.15kmh), and electric cars held the record until 1902 when a steam-powered vehicle went to 120kmh.
Henry Ford dealt electric cars a heavy blow when he began mass-producing cheap cars powered by internal combustion engines.
For the past 100 years, there have been many electric cars made in relatively small batches that have not managed to capture a great amount of market share. So, consigned to history have been such brave and eccentric marvels as the Corbin Sparrow, the Ford Think Neighbor, the Henney Kilowatt and the G-Wiz.
First buyer
How practical was that historic first mass-produced, fully electric vehicle sold in New Zealand?Mark and Mhorag Hutt, who usually live north of Auckland, were the buyers in 2011. Mr Hutt said he had been waiting 20 years for the opportunity to buy an electric car.
''It was worth the 20-year wait. I've decided to take the lead and just get on with it.''
In the three and a-half years since then, the car had cost the couple nothing in maintenance or road user charges, they had never been stranded with a flat battery and they had saved themselves more than $7000 in fuel bills.
Mr Hutt says their energy bill for transport dropped from $15.89 a day before the i-MiEV to $2.31 after they bought it.
Although the couple was working in Western Australia when the ODT spoke to them, Mrs Hutt had used the Mitsubishi i-MiEV regularly on a 64km daily commute to work in Auckland.
The hardest pill to swallow, Mr Hutt pointed out, was the cost of buying it.
''We got it on finance, so unfortunately, it cost us a lot.''
''But, the angle I was coming from was that we were going to get the payback within a five to 10-year period.''
Mr Hutt is an electrician and solar power enthusiast and has no plans to sell the car or give up on the all-electric dream.
''As soon as I can afford it, I'm planning to buy a Tesla''.
Rural
If you live in the country and assume therefore only a petrol or diesel engine will suffice, here's a thought from Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority general manager transport Elizabeth Yeaman.
She considers electric cars have a peculiar advantage over petrol in more remote areas: every house with an electricity supply becomes a potential service station for an electric car, reducing country motorists' reliance on the dwindling number of petrol stations.''
You never need to worry about going to a petrol station because you can actually fill up at home.''
Over the next 10 years, she expects electric vehicles to become a ''significantly larger part of the landscape'' than they are now.''
It does take a long time to turn over New Zealand's vehicle stock, so they won't be absolutely everywhere.''
But I think a lot more people will be considering them as a serious choice for their next vehicle.''
She considers a plug-in hybrid ''as good as an electric vehicle'' in terms of its benefits to the country because most drivers travel a relatively short distance each day and are likely to use petrol infrequently.
Mrs Yeaman says New Zealand imports $9 billion of oil each year.
By converting vehicles to electricity generated in New Zealand, she says, is ''almost like creating a whole new dairy sector''.
Road user
Electric cars up to 3.5 tonnes are exempt from road user charges and are likely to continue to be until at least 2020.
A Ministry of Transport spokesman explained the exemption was intended to encourage the uptake of electric cars.
Road user charges could be applied when electric vehicles became a ''significant portion'' of the country's vehicle fleet.
The government is, however, collecting some extra revenue from electric vehicles by charging more than petrol for registering them, as it does for diesel.