Fleets may be downsizing the company cars they choose, but while engine size is getting smaller there is no compromise on performance, according to ALD Automotive.

In 2003, when ALD began recording the data, the average company car supplied was powered by a 1,914cc engine and pumped out on average 124bhp with CO2 emissions averaging almost 167g/km.

Although the average engine size of company cars supplied by ALD peaked at 1933cc in 2004, there has since been a progressive reduction in engine size dropping to an average 1786cc in the first six months of 2009.

But, while engineers have worked tirelessly to extract more performance from slightly smaller engines they have also been successful in significantly cutting CO2 emissions by around 12% on average, according to company cars delivered by ALD.

On average, CO2 emissions from company cars supplied by ALD in the first six months of 2009 have dropped to an all-time low of 146g/km. That compares with an average figure of 150g/km last year, 156g/km in 2007 and almost 167g/km in 2003.

Meanwhile, organisations are also travelling fewer miles. In the first six months of this year the average annual contracted mileage for newly supplied company cars was 17,860 miles.

In 2003, the average annual contracted mileage for company cars supplied by ALD was 22,475 miles.