Story: DAVID WILKINS
YOU’VE been busy out there buying Toyota and Lexus new cars, it seems.
Toyota says its sales to business customers are up fifteen per cent so far this year in a flat market. Company car drivers have been going for the company’s hybrids in a big way – these now account for 30 per cent of Toyota and Lexus company car sales.
New low emission hybrid models, including the Yaris Hybrid, the seven-seat Prius+ people carrier, the plug-in version of the standard Prius and the latest version of the Lexus GS 450h have helped, but the established Lexus CT 200h has also done well, with a 71.3 per cent rise in company car sales compared with last year.
Did you know? The mid-range Yaris model carries a 10% company car tax banding giving rise to a monthly company car tax charge from as little as £27
Toyota recently boosted the appeal of the CT 200h to business users with a new “S” spec version. With CO2 emissions of just 87g/km, the CT 200h S can cost as little as £37 per month in company car tax (see Lexus widens CT 200h appeal with introduction of 87g/km entry-level S model).
Company car drivers who want to squeeze their tax bills even further might want to look at the forthcoming hybrid version of the Auris. Built in the UK, the Auris Hybrid also emits just 87g/km of CO2 and carries a company car tax liability for 20 per cent taxpayers of just £34 per month.
The Toyota and Lexus ranges now contain eight cars that crack the 100g/km barrier – providing 100% write down allowances for those small businesses that purchase their company cars under the current business car tax allowance rules.
