MORE than half of firms still believe company cars are essential for attracting and retaining staff.

Nearly 60% of companies believe it is important to dangle the carrot of a company car in front of prospective and existing staff, up from only half just two years ago, according to a survey by Employee Benefits and leasing firm Alphabet.

Its findings come soon after figures revealed that fleet sales leapt 5.72% to 1,090,398 last year, while business car sales, for vehicles provided to sub-25 vehicle fleets, were up 10.3% to 234,417.

A spokesman for the report's authors said: 'Despite the tightening economic environment and a Government dedicated to parting Britons from their company cars, our love affair with our motors continues.'

A total of 42% of respondents agreed that 'company cars will always be a part of the package' and the number of companies planning to stop offering cars fell by a third compared to a year ago. The survey of almost 240 fleet professionals also suggests more firms are offering cash or other alternatives to traditional company car packages and the main reason for this (65%) is to give staff more choice.

Alphabet's chief operating officer, Mike Baldry, said: 'Big one-make deals have been the traditional way for large firms to keep their fleet costs down but employers are now turning to structured employee car ownership schemes because they cut costs while allowing employees a much wider choice of car.'

Responding to last year's company car tax changes, the report said: 'Only 5% of respondents got rid of their fleets. Thirty nine percent merely informed employees about what was going on and let them deal with the new rules, while 19% didn't even bother to do that.'

It added that almost a quarter of organisations (24%) said the new tax system had absolutely no effect on the popularity of company cars.