FLEET drivers and managers are downsizing their fleet vehicles in a trend that will continue as the Government focuses on the environment Christopher Macgowan, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' chief executive, said.

This year alone sales in the executive sector, the traditional home of the large-engined car, are down from 9.4% of the market in 1990 to 4% so far this year. But while Macgowan agreed that road pricing was a good way to ensure that companies made sensible choices about transport, he dismissed workplace parking charges as a nightmare.

Macgowan added to warnings that fleet managers were not doing enough to educate their drivers about CO2-based company car tax. He said: 'The most important changes coming are CO2-based taxes and they are going to have a progressive effect on our industry. The charges will become harsher. These changes will bring a new retail experience, but it must be done without damaging the industry.'