Peter Davenport, chief executive of Motiva, says: “We’ve put some hybrids back to market and our experience so far has been patchy.

"At certain times of the year in inner cities they do well, but people that buy them seem to be quite mileage conscious. It’s a difficult sell when they’ve done more than 50,000 miles.”

Manheim says that it in its experience, ex-fleet hybrids tend to be younger, with lower mileage and a slightly higher sales value than their wider ex-fleet counterparts.

In addition, hybrids tend to take slightly longer to sell than non-hybrid vehicles “but the difference is not substantial”.

“The market is still getting used to the concept of hybrid vehicles as a used commodity for resale and, as such, it may take a while for the guides to match up with the actual sale values at auction,” explains Daren Wiseman, general manager, Manheim Seller Advance.

“At the moment, there is quite often a marginal difference, which may be why some vendors are experiencing a sense that the residual values do not add up. Over time, we expect the guide value figures to demonstrate a more accurate reflection of market realities.”

Whether a hybrid will be fit for purpose is an important consideration too.

For example, boot space in a hybrid may be reduced in order to accommodate the batteries, or there may be four seats rather than five.

The types of journeys drivers do also need to be considered. If they are predominantly motorway journeys hybrids aren’t necessarily the best choice.

Fleets experience differing fuel consumption

Fuel economy is a contentious issue. While some fleet operators say drivers achieve close to official figures others have found hybrids to be among the worst performers on the fleet.

The Environment Agency has had more success with its hybrid vans than cars.

It operates 12 diesel hybrid vans from Ashwoods and they achieve 10-15% better mpg than the equivalent diesel van.

There is also a 10-15% reduction in carbon emissions.

“That may be down to the way the van is geared,” Eynon says. “Ashwoods spent a lot of time with us setting it up for our type of driving.”

Driver feedback has been positive with drivers reporting that they soon forget they are even in a hybrid. But on the car fleet it’s a less positive story.

The fuel economy has been “disappointing”, according to Eynon, and is “nowhere near as good as published figures”.

“You do need to change your driving style quite a lot to get the most out of them,” he says.