CONTRACT hire and leasing companies which cannot offer company car drivers a personal motoring product risk being left behind within the next 12 months. This stark warning was issued by Jim Norris, the newly-appointed director of Lex Vehicle Leasing's Personal Contract Purchase scheme Lex Freechoice.

'Without an Inland Revenue approved PCP scheme, contract hire and leasing companies are going to lose a great deal of business,' he said. 'With the likelihood of more perk drivers being offered a cash allowance to replace their car in the run up to next year's Budget, having a PCP package means you can still do business with that individual.'

Swan National's multi-marque CarChoice scheme which offers both PCP and personal lease options, along with a full maintenance package if required, is rapidly increasing its business. And just a fortnight ago Dial Contracts predicted a massive shift towards leasing companies dealing directly with drivers as employers looked to offer staff assisted car sourcing packages rather than a traditional company car. Indeed, Dial has forecast that 30% of its customers will be individual drivers within the next five to eight years. Dial is set to launch its own personal motoring scheme early in the New Year.