Morgan Ashurst, which employs more than 2,000 people, has switched its employee car ownership ECO scheme to Provecta Car Plan.

The company made the move to an ECO scheme three years ago, but found that it wasn’t generating the expected savings.

Provecta said the changes it has implemented mean Morgan Ashurst can now expect savings of over £1,000 per car over the term of the contract, which current involves 350 cars.

One of the main changes was the tailoring of car allowances for each driver, calculated on his or her individual total annual mileage.

John Homer, managing director for Morgan Ashurst, said: “Previously all our drivers were under the same fixed contract, regardless of their annual mileage profile.

"While this meant that it was right for some drivers, it actually cost us money for others.

"Provecta examined our fleet driver by driver, and came up with a solution that turned everything around, without our drivers losing flexibility or choice.”

All existing ECO drivers have the option to switch to the Provecta ECO scheme at the end of their current contract and other qualifying drivers, including those who chose not to enter the original ECO scheme, will be given the option of joining the scheme for the first time.

Drivers will be actively encouraged to select cars with lower CO2 emissions under the new ECO scheme.

Morgan Ashurst is offering drivers an extra £20 per month in their allowance if they choose a vehicle with 10% lower CO2 emissions than the benchmark car their allowance is based on.

It has also decided to give drivers the option of downsizing their vehicles and of keeping the cash they save.

However, drivers are limited to an upgrade of no more than 20% of the list price in order to keep the fleet’s CO2 levels down.

Nick Sutton, chairman of Provecta, said: “We have already proven that ECO drivers usually choose more economical models and cut down on the number of journeys they make, because it directly impacts on their pocket.

"This has a direct impact on their carbon footprint, which can be up to 20% lower than for company cars.

"Now we are building in further measures to give drivers the incentive to lower their emissions still further.”

With the Provecta ECO scheme, employees are given a monthly allowance in their salary and have access to a wide variety of cars at ‘fleet discount’ prices.

For a monthly payment, the employees’ vehicles receive full servicing, road tax, and can also include insurance.

Drivers often have the choice of using their full allowance, or adding to it from their salary to upgrade the car, or select a cheaper option and pocket the difference.

Although driver choice and flexibility is increased, controls are put in place to ensure health and safety procedures are adhered to and all cars are fit for purpose.