The company has confirmed in a recent poll of 100 financial directors that cost remains a major barrier to entry for many.

• However, for just over a third (35%) of those polled, a price premium of up to 10% – compared to conventional fuels – wouldn’t be too much to swallow.

  Further findings from the survey also reveal that half of firms, (53%) would invest in hybrids and EVs if they could match petrol and diesel alternatives on a range of criteria, including running costs and convenience of use.

  Marcus Puddy, head of consultancy services at Lex Autolease, said: “For a long time now, petrol ruled the roost, but today diesel is the most popular fuel choice. So, who knows what tomorrow will bring given our finite oil reserves and rising carbon taxes?

  “The fleet industry is renowned for being an early adopter of new technologies and, over the next five years, we anticipate that EVs will become a practical option, in limited numbers, for firms doing a lot of localised ‘back to base’ short journeys.

  “Whether they eventually become a mainstream choice for the company car driver is another matter altogether and this will largely be dictated by how well the current generation of EVs perform on the used car market.”