PEUGEOTS worth about £2.5 million at showroom prices have been purchased by the Peter Cox Group in a solus deal. The 250 cars are mainly 306 diesel models and they will replace a mixed fleet of diesel vehicles.

Group fleet controller Jon Foley said the buying decision was made after an extensive evaluation of wholelife costs of a range of competitive vehicles. He said: 'The 306 - in our estimation - proved to be clearly the best in this sector.'

The Peter Cox Group is owned by Servicemaster, one of the biggest companies in America dealing with issues such as pest control. The current fleet is 500-strong including 200 commercials.