A good company car is one of the greatest incentives for attracting new staff, according to a survey by OSV, which showed BMW to be the most desired marque.

VW fell to second place having triumphed last year and Ford was the only non-German manufacturer to make the top-five, which also included Mercedes and Audi.

Andrew Kirkley, OSV joint-company director, said: “Fleet selection is a really important decision for business owners, whether they hire or buy outright.

“While it’s clear that the type of car you have on offer to employees can affect your chances of hiring and the calibre of staff that you can attract to your company, business owners also need to consider the ongoing maintenance costs that a fleet can incur.

The survey also looked at what drives fleet car selection. For almost half (42%) of those surveyed, vehicle efficiency was the leading draw.

A third stated that emissions were a big consideration when purchasing a company fleet and 21% of those surveyed stated that they’d opt for an electric company car upgrade with September’s new registrations.

Kirkley added: “While there was some concern in the trade that the recent tax increase would impact upon company car uptake this season, our survey also revealed that 15% of businesses plan to spend more on fleet cars this September than ever before. This is great news for both the industry and the general economy as a whole.”

For another 30% of business car buyers, technology was listed as a primary influencer over their final purchase decision – and one in five (19%) workers stated that a company car was the deciding factor when taking a job.