Sure, they can. To attain a certain speed what you need is power and there is no problem in getting power from an electric engine. The main problem is the available quantity of energy that you may store in electrical batteries, which is still too low and, thus, compromises the autonomy of the car.

I think this will help you. All the theory is from the internet with references.

Thunder Sky (based in Hong Kong) builds lithium-ion batteries used in submarines and has three models of electric buses, the 10/21 passenger EV-6700 with a range of 280 km (170 mi) under 20 mins quick-charge, the EV-2009 city buses, and the 43 passenger EV-2008 highway bus, which has a range of 300 km (190 mi) under quick-charge (20 mins to 80%), and 350 km (220 mi) under full charge (25 mins). The buses will also be built in the United States and Finland (Thunder Sky website).

The Port of Los Angeles and South Coast Air Quality Management District have demonstrated a short-range heavy-duty all electric truck capable of hauling a fully loaded 40-foot (12 m) cargo container. The current design is capable of pulling a 60,000 lb (27 t) cargo container at speeds up to 40 mph (64 km/h) and has a range of between 30 and 60 miles (48 and 97 km). It uses 2 kilowatt-hours per mile (1.2 kW•h/km; 4.5 MJ/km), compared to 5 miles per US gallon (47 L/100 km; 6.0 mpg-imp) for the hostler semi tractors it replaces(Theresa Adams Lopez (2008). "Electric Truck Demonstration Project Fact Sheet" (PDF). Port of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2009-01-04).

Proterra's EcoRide BE35 transit bus, called the Ecoliner by Foothill Transit in West Covina, California, is the world’s first heavy duty, fast charge, battery-electric bus. Proterra's ProDrive drive-system uses a UQM motor and regenerative braking that captures 90% of the available energy and returns it to the TerraVolt energy storage system, which in turn increases the total distance the bus can drive by 31-35%. It can travel 30–40 miles on a single charge, is up to 600% more fuel-efficient than a typical diesel or CNG bus, and produces 44% less carbon than CNG (http://www.proterra.com/index.php/mediacenter/companynews/proterra_launches_first_deployment_of_all-electric_zero-emission_buses/).