AS company car drivers race headlong towards diesel cars, BMW GB has highlighted that some of its petrol-powered 3-series cars will incur a lower benefit-in-kind tax charge than their diesel equivalents.

The 167g/km carbon dioxide emissions of the new 1.8-litre engine in the 316, for example, are low enough for the vehicle to qualify in the 15 per cent band from next April - three percentage points below the best performing diesel.

Even the high performance 330i SE will be taxed at 25 per cent of its list price under the new emissions-based tax system - the same level paid by mid-range business mileage drivers in the current tax year.

'Its CO2 rating of 218g/km means that in company car tax terms it will deliver a saving of £4,048 to a 40 per cent taxpayer over three years when compared with an equivalent model from another south German competitor - the price of a fine case of claret every month,' said Jim O'Donnell, managing director of BMW GB.

Accepting there will be a few 'white faces' when some company car drivers open their pay packets next April, he believes BMW has a good emissions story to tell, and forecasts that the company with MINI will sell more than 100,000 vehicles in the UK for the first time next year.

This year BMW has already surpassed its 1999 sales records of 70,932 units, and is heading for 80,000 sales without including MINI.