Batteries are large and expensive. Natural Resources Canada, in an overview, say that current vehicles are limited to 100-200 kilometers on a charge. They must be recharged often- plugging into usually coal-fired electricity sources- and the batteries must be replaced after 400-500 charges.
"The final goal is to build light-duty battery-electric vehicles that will offer acceleration and speeds that are similar to conventional vehicles. To achieve broad consumer acceptance, battery-electric vehicles will likely need to have a driving range of close to 300 kilometers (180 miles) between recharging and a battery life of 5 to 10 years." (180 miles on Alberta hwys. barely gets me to the next city).
http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/fuels/electric.cfm?attr=8

Heaters and defrosters of course take energy; I have seen nothing on energy needed at 30 below, not uncommon in Alberta in the winter.

frogprince, I can't see that 40 miles on a charge does any good; A round trip to the supermarket (no other stops) for me is over 20 miles round trip, and to drive from the south end to the north end of the city is more than 40 miles.

I think it will be a long wait.