COMPANY car drivers will bite the bullet of higher company car tax, rather than give up their car, a pre-Budget Fleet News/Kwik-Fit Fleet survey reveals. The survey discovered that drivers would react to incentives in Tuesday's long-awaited Budget to switch to more fuel-efficient vehicles, but needed their cars for both essential business and private miles.

And the importance of company cars to businesses was underlined when 72% of fleet managers surveyed said a combination of increases in company car taxes and the scrapping of the existing 2,500 and 18,000 business-mile tax breaks would not result in a reduction in the size of their fleet. Three quarters of the company car drivers questioned said they would be influenced by tax breaks which encouraged more fuel-efficient cars, but 60% of drivers would not give up their cars even if benefit-in-kind tax levels rise in the Budget. A further 57% of company car drivers said their choice of vehicle would be swayed if the Government taxed company provision of fuel for private use at cost.