A fully electric car that costs its owner just $1.40 every 100km will be launched in Perth on Thursday.

Students and staff at the University of Western Australia have converted a Hyundai Getz to run off a DC battery that lasts up to 100km before requiring recharging.

The $1.40 cost of power compares with $7.44 over 100km for the same fuel-powered vehicle, based on a price of $1.20 per litre of unleaded fuel.

UWA professor Thomas Braunl said while electric cars were nothing new, their day in the sun must come.

"You have it in the headlines every day ... global warming, carbon trading, ... record high fuel prices, air pollution, and cars are to some degree to blame for this," Prof Braunl told AAP.

"Electric cars have been around for 100 years ... but I think this time they're going to stay because there is the need for sustainable transport and the technology is really there."

Limitations of electric vehicles, particularly the need to recharge more often than refilling, have prevented their wider use in the marketplace, Prof Braunl said.

"But I think by today if you look at the typical patterns, people driving to work, many families having two cars ... at least for the second car market this would be ideal," he said.

The converted Getz has several safety systems built into it, including an impact sensor which shuts off the high power voltage in case of an accident.

There are additional sensors to stop the motor from "high revving".

If there is a problem with the controller, the engine will cut out.

Safety mechanisms will also cut out the motor in the event of brake problems or faults in the hose pressure pump.

The conversion of the Getz is the start of a broader endeavour for UWA's faculty of engineering, computing and mathematics.

Next year the students will convert a 2002 Lotus Elise S2, and have longer-term plans to develop a four-wheel drive.

（www.eduwo.com, Anna）