SMART’S electric-powered ev model made its debut at the show – and has already found its way on to four fleets.

Estate agency Knight Frank is to lease 10 of the evs from smart for use at its central London offices, while Lloydspharmacy has announced plans to take on the model, too. Traditional sash window specialists Refurb-A-Sash will replace its existing smarts with ev versions, while the CityCarClub is investigating the possibility of adding to its fleet in central London.

Dermot Kelly, managing director of the Mercedes Car Group, said: ‘We have had an excellent response from the companies we’ve presented the ev project to and we’re still interested in hearing from potential project partners who are serious about reducing their environmental impact.’

Kelly added that DaimlerChrysler was currently in discussions with several local authorities, including Middlesbrough and Milton Keynes, about putting evs on their fleets.