HERE are the runners and riders for the Fleet Alliance supported SME Company Car of the Year Awards 2018.

It’s an extensive list of entries, chosen by the manufacturers themselves as the best in class for the SME sector.

It’s a case of putting their car – or company car programme – on the line.

What’s really heartening is the number of entries this year – which also serves to highlight how difficult it can be for a director, or small business owner, to choose the right company car for their particular business.

The choice is fantastic. But it can be overwhelming.

So the SME Company Car of the Year Awards sorts the good from the brilliant so you don’t have to.

The judges are completely independent and are experts in the SME automotive sector. So have a look through the list.

What car would be your winner?

• Company car tax (CCT) bands are 2018/19
• The winners will be announced on March 07, 2018, in London

Best Value SME Company Car

Citroen C3 Aircross 1.6 BlueHDi 100 Feel – P11d £17,025; CCT Band 25%; 104g/km CO2

Fiat Tipo 5-Door Hatch 1.6 120 Multijet Elite Eco – P11d £17,640; CCT Band 23%; 89g/km CO2

Honda Civic 5 Door 1.0T VTEC SR Navi – P11d £20,540; CCT Band 24%; 117g/km CO2

Renault Zoe 5 Door Hatch Dynamique Nav Auto – P11d £22,615; CCT Band 13%; 0g/km CO2

SEAT Ibiza Hatch 1.0 TSI 95ps FR – P11d £15,820; CCT Band 22%; 106g/km CO2

Skoda Octavia 5-Door Hatch 1.0 TSI 115ps SE Technology – P11d £18,805; CCT Band 23%; 110g/km CO2

Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport 1.6 Turbo D ecoTEC Tech Line Nav – P11d £21,475; CCT Band 26%; 105g/km CO2

Best Compact SME Company Car

Honda Jazz 5 Door Hatch 1.3 i-VTEC EX – P11d £16,900; CCT Band 25%; 120g/km CO2

Kia Sportage 1.7 CRDi 114bhp 2 ISG – P11d £22,780; CCT Band 28%; 119g/km CO2

MINI Hatch 5 Door 1.5 D Cooper – P11d £17,795; CCT Band 24%; 99g/km CO2

Mercedes-Benz GLA 220d 5 Door 2.1 AMG Line Auto 4MATIC – P11d £34,790; CCT Band 31%; 130g/km CO2

Peugeot 3008 SUV 1.6 BlueHDi 120 Allure Start+Stop – P11d £26,200; CCT Band 25%; 104g/km CO2

Renault Megane Hatch 1.5 dCi 110 Dynamique Nav – P11d £20,415; CCT Band 24%; 96g/km CO2

SEAT Arona 5 Door 1.0 TSI 95ps SE Technology – P11d £17,330; CCT Band 23%; 111g/km CO2

Skoda Fabia 5 Door Hatch 1.0 TSI 95ps SE –  P11d £14,155; CCT Band 21%; 101g/km CO2

Vauxhall Astra 5 Door 1.6CDTi 110 Tech Line Nav ecoTEC Start+Stop –  P11d £19,800; CCT Band 23%; 88g/km CO2

Best Large SME Company Car

Alfa Romeo Giulia 2.2JTDM-2 180hp Tecnica Auto – P11d £32,040; CCT Band 26%; 109g/km CO2

Jaguar XF Saloon 2.0D 163ps R-Sport Auto – P11d £35,945; CCT Band 26%; 109g/km CO2

Mercedes-Benz E220d Saloon 2.0 AMG Line Auto – P11d £39,800; CCT Band 27%; 112g/km CO2

Renault Koleos 1.6 dCi 130 Dynamique S Nav – P11d £27,785; CCT Band 30%; 128g/km CO2

Skoda Kodiaq 2.0 TDI 150ps SE Technology 7SEAT DSG – P11d £28,770; CCT Band 31%; 131g/km CO2

Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport 1.6 Turbo D ecoTEC Tech Line Nav – P11d £21,475; CCT Band 26%; 105g/km CO2

Best Director’s SME Company Car

Alfa Romeo Stelvio 2.2D Turbo 180hp Super Auto RWD – P11d £35,975; CCT Band 29%; 124g/km CO2

BMW 520d Saloon 2.0 M Sport Auto – P11d £39,620; CCT Band 27%; 114g/km CO2

Land-Rover Range Rover 2.0 P400e Phev Vogue SE Auto – P11d £93,395; CCT Band 16%; 64g/km CO2

Mercedes-Benz E350e Saloon 2.0 AMG Line Auto – P11d £47,995; CCT Band 16%; 57g/km CO2

Skoda Superb Hatch 2.0TDI SCR 190ps Laurin+Klement DSG – P11d £34,405; CCT Band 29%; 123g/km CO2

Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport 1.6 Turbo D ecoTEC 110 Elite Nav – P11d £24,105; CCT Band 26%; 105g/km CO2

Best Green SME Company Car

BMW i3 Hatch eDrive 94Ah Auto – P11d £34,015; CCT Band 13%; 0g/km CO2

Mercedes-Benz C350e Saloon 2.0 AMG Line Auto – P11d £40,920; CCT Band 16%; 52g/km CO2

Renault Zoe 5 Door Hatch Dynamique Nav Auto – P11d £22,615; CCT Band 13%; 0g/km CO2

Hyundai Ioniq Hatch 28KwH Electric Premium – P11d £29,440; CCT Band 13%; 0g/km CO2

Best SME After Sales Programme

• Hyundai – Hyundai’s Fleet Aftersales Charter was created in 2014 to provide fleet customers with a dedicated after sales service across the dealer network, helping customers with every aspect of running their car as cost-effectively as possible.
• Renault – Renault iCare system provides businesses with traceability of their vehicles while giving them coverage and support with breakdowns and accidents. The controller can be dash-mounted to give the user an easy to use ecall and bcall service. Providing duty of care for the business.
• Skoda – In 2017, Skoda introduced a Fleet Service Level Agreement with its nationwide retailers to help reduce downtime for customers. The priority is to cut down lead times for service and maintenance work and for further convenience, the agreement offers collection and delivery and onward mobility.
• Vauxhall – Vauxhall Service Central Billing is designed to reduce the administrative burden on fleet managers and make it easier for fleet customers to do business with the retailer network.

Best SME Company Car Programme

• Free2Move Lease – Free2Move Lease covers the company car programmes for all PSA Group brands – Peugeot, DS and Citroen.  Dealers receive vehicle margin as well as finance commissions plus incentives for the salesperson and an end-of-year awards event to provide additional motivation. The SME programme is designed to support the dealer network by driving all SMR work back to them
• Honda – In 2017, Honda launched a revitalised Platinum Programme initiative aimed at supporting managers, particularly in SMEs, who do not have the time to focus on their vehicle fleets with the introduction of an office-based team able to respond to queries as the requirement arrives. The virtual account manager strategy won the Best Innovation in Sales award at the prestigious Professional Sales Awards 2017, endorsed by Cranfield School of Business.
• Mercedes-Benz – Mercedes-Benz has undergone a total rebranding of the local business programme to “Business Solutions”. This rebranding included an improved contract hire offer with aftersales service care packs. A 48-hour test drive campaign commenced on the 1 December aimed purely at Fleet and Business customers.
• SEAT – In 2017 SEAT has further cemented SMEs as a core element of its fleet offering with YoY sales up by over 80%, of which sales to limited companies are up over 50%. SME driven dealer support includes SEAT’s Local Business Development Manager (LBDM) programme put in place to help increase support to dealerships when managing sub-40 fleet customers.
• Skoda – Skoda Fleet supports retailers financially in order to employ Local Business Development Managers (LBDMs). These individuals are dedicated to supporting local businesses with sub-25 vehicle fleets. This year, Skoda Fleet introduced a Fleet Service Level Agreement with retailers ensuring short lead times for service and maintenance work.
• Vauxhall – Improvements include doubling the size of the field team to serve the needs of SME company car buyers and for SMEs running company cars, helped SMEs finance their company cars more easily, with an improved interest rate for the SME fleet sector, and increased funding lines.