UP until September 2015, there was only one type of engine best-suited to company car work – the diesel.

However, the admission that Volkswagen had cheated in its emissions tests of diesel powered models has sent the heavy fuel on a seemingly downward spiral – with reported plans of a Government-sponsored diesel scrappage scheme coming later this year and the London Mayor preparing a Toxicity Charge for older diesels coming into the capital this autumn.

With all this uncertainty, a better choice of models, plus the fact that despite changes in salary sacrifice, ultra-low emission vehicles have escaped these changes, fleet managers and drivers have had their eyes opened to the fact that Alternative Fuel Vehicles or AFVs are a serious option.

AFVs are those cars with some form of electric motivation, whether hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or full electric vehicles.

It is not just salary sacrifice that makes AFVs an attractive option for company buyers, company car tax (BIK) rates are still attractively low for these vehicles, dropping to just 2% for the zero emission electric car by 2020/21 (subject to government ratification).

The latest ExpertEye Fleet Industry Review of 200 fleet operators backs this up, as over the past two years the proportion of fleets with hybrid fuel vehicles has increased from 32% to 62% and electric from 8% to 22%.

Despite the bad press, the review found that diesel still dominates corporate fleets, but fleet managers are now more willing to allow fully electric and range extender cars onto their fleets, despite the higher initial cost.