1998 is shaping up to be the year of the personal motoring scheme as leasing companies prepare for the uncertainty of next spring's Budget. A straw poll revealed that if leasing companies had not finalised their personal contract purchase or personal lease schemes then their plans were at least at a late stage of development.

All talk but no action would seem to be the sum total of personal motoring schemes to date, but this is widely anticipated to change amid fears over Government revisions to the company car tax regime. Jim Norris, the newly-appointed director of Lex Vehicle Leasing's Personal Contract Purchase scheme Lex Freechoice, has issued a straightforward warning. '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 the Budget, having a PCP package means you can still do business with that individual.'

Ian Hill, managing director of Hartwell Motor Contracts, forecast PCPs as a key growth area for 1998, and said he suspected every Budget to tighten the screw slightly on the traditional company car, forcing companies to look at PCPs. The battle lines are already being drawn up to provide personal motoring schemes, with manufacturer or dealer backed schemes on one side, and the established leasing companies on the other.