An electric cable is attached to the side of a car. Leading automotive and energy companies have reached agreement on a common "plug" to recharge electric cars, a spokeswoman for German energy company RWE said Sunday.

Leading automotive and energy companies have reached agreement on a common "plug" to recharge electric cars, a spokeswoman for German energy company RWE said Sunday.

The three-point, 400-volt plug, which will allow electric cars to be recharged anywhere in a matter of minutes, is set to be unveiled Monday at the world's biggest industrial technology fair in Hanover, northern Germany.

"A car must be able to be recharged in Italy in exactly the same way as in Denmark, Germany or France," an RWE spokeswoman, Caroline Reichert, was quoted as saying in an edition of Die Welt to appear Monday.

She gave no timeframe for the introduction of the plug, saying that talks between the companies were ongoing.

The agreement on a common standard for the plug comprises several major automakers, including Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Fiat, Toyota and Mitsubishi.

Energy firms signed up to the accord include Eon, Vattenfall, EDF, Npower, Endesa and Enel.

Berlin hopes that one million electric cars will be on the road by 2020. RWE and Daimler launched a pilot project in Berlin in September.

The development of a common plug is a major step towards the mass production of electric cars, Reichert told Die Welt.

(c) 2009 AFP

Explore further UC Davis Will Study Users of New Plug-in Hybrid Cars