Well, it means what you call ‘ready’….
We have been rather sceptical on this front (see here, here and here). The cost and durability issues won’t go away anytime soon.
Now the Boston Consulting Group has come with a thorough study (see here) and this isn’t terribly encouraging either..
i think you need to look at BYD’s battery technology and specifically the F3DM model car.
They will be at the Detroit auto show this year and plan on selling a range extended vehicle in the US for ~20,000 and it has a range of 62 miles all electric.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYD_F3DM