David Hosking, managing director of leasing and salary sacrifice specialist Tusker, said news of the postponement of the 3p rise in fuel duty, originally planned for January, would be welcomed by British businesses, many of whom were currently struggling under considerable pressures caused by the general economic slowdown.

The announcement of the 3p postponement and the reduction of the planned increase for August from 5p to 3p merely served to underline the need for companies and their drivers to select the most environmentally friendly and economical models available, he said.

“It is vitally important that companies put together their fleet policy lists to include the most fuel and tax efficient models, as this will have a major bearing on the costs they and their employees pay over the next three or more years.

“There is a distinct and obvious correlation between selecting those models with the lowest emissions and the best fuel consumption and paying the lowest possible running costs and tax charges for both companies and drivers.”

One efficient way of doing this was via a salary sacrifice car scheme, said Hosking, as salary sacrifice car drivers tended to select smaller engined, lower carbon emitting vehicles.

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