Electric car charge points installed at Sainsbury's

The move is a boost to Mayor Boris Johnson's plan to make London "the electric vehicle capital of Europe".

He wants 25,000 refuelling docks in London's workplaces, retail parks, streets and public carparks by 2015, catering for 100,000 electric cars.

Sainsbury's is the first business to introduce a cross-city network of publicly accessible electric parking spots.

It has installed two in nine stores including ones in Camden, Chiswick, Greenwich and Beckton, with Wandsworth and Whitechapel to join the scheme later this month. If they prove popular more will be created.

Sainsbury's commercial director Neil Sachdev said: "This will turn London into an electric vehicle super-highway. Electric vehicles create less noise and help keep the city's air clean."

The Mayor's £60 million charging points scheme is part of a drive to cut carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2025.

He aims to deliver 2,500 recharging spaces, with businesses expected to provide 22,500.

Mr Johnson said: "I welcome the arrival of Sainsbury's network, which will put half of London's population within three miles of a charge point."

There are about 5,000 registered battery-powered cars in Britain.