While company car, benefit-in-kind and capital allowance tax changes have all resulted in fleets adopting lower carbon vehicles far quicker than private motorists, pressure is mounting for further measures to be introduced to quicken the uptake of these vehicles by fleets.

The all-party parliamentary group on peak oil heard that it would be preferable to have emissions from company vehicles included within carbon trading schemes to further focus the minds of fleet managers.

Currently, transport emissions are not included.

“If companies were asked to capture their fleet emissions, this would provide a direct link between fleet policies and CO2 emissions,” said Greg Archer, director of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LCVP).

“This would be a way of driving low carbon technology uptake.”

Mr Archer told the group that if fleets choose the most efficient new vehicles already on the market when reordering, their emissions could be reduced by up to 30%.

However, fleets looking to adopt ultra-low carbon vehicles, such as electric or hybrid vehicles are still faced with concerns over whether such technology will stand the test of time.

For example, all-electric vans are already widely available but there is still no answer to concerns about whether battery technology is advanced enough to ensure used van buyers will want them in three years’ time.

The solution may lie in leased batteries, which are replaced when they show signs of being unable to hold their charge.

But until such schemes are widespread, it is still unlikely that fleets will adopt low-carbon technology as quickly as the government and the LCVP hope.

“Fleet managers are very risk averse in their vehicle choices,” Mr Archer told Fleet News.

“There is now a range of more reliable vehicles with proven track records that can offer significant benefits.

"However there is reluctance from many fleets to even trial - to even consider – the options.”

Mr Archer’s view is contradicted by a new survey, which found that the changes to capital allowances have the potential to dramatically change the make-up of the UK’s fleet.

Eighty-one per-cent of fleet decision makers said the tax change, which will benefit fleets that have cars emitting less than 160g/km of CO2m, will result in their driver’s choosing more eco-friendly models.

The research, conducted by LeasePlan in conjunction with KPMG, also found that 94% of fleet decision makers felt that the government was primarily looking to encourage fleets to be more environmentally-friendly in their choices of vehicles.

However, 19% also felt it was simply another opportunity for the government to generate more tax revenue.

While the survey shows willingness by fleets to go green, there is still a lot to do, as Tim Hudson, commercial director at LeasePlan, explains: “It will take more than a tax change to ensure company cars continue to become greener.

"The responsibility lies in many areas – the government has a role to play, but so do manufacturers, vehicle management companies, fleet managers, board-level decision makers and the drivers themselves.

"Only if all these parties work together will we achieve the most environmentally friendly fleet of company cars possible.”