Alastair Kendrick, a partner at Bourne Business Consulting, has said the budget should make employers re-visit their car policies.

He said: "I am pleased to say there were few surprises in the budget and this could be considered a water shed for company cars.

"The proposed changes to capital allowances on cars should lead many employers to re-visit their car policies.

"It will be interesting to see if these proposals can work to encourage greener choice.

"Clearly the target at cars below 130g/km of CO2 may encourage, at the lower end, more takers of company cars, but the penalties at the higher end may mean executives opt out of car schemes.

"It would be good if we see a reduction in the cost of the low CO2 emission car to make them a viable option for employers considering adopting.

"At present those cars that are ‘fit for purpose’ are often expensive to acquire in comparison to other similar sized vehicles.

"The announcement on AMAP relief is welcomed and the suggestion that this is to be reviewed for alignment for tax and NIC will make life easier for those employers who administer employee car ownership schemes."