Availability of low-CO2 cars from manufacturers will be the key to meeting CO2 targets for fleets, says Mark Sinclair, Alphabet director.

By 2020, all new vehicles will have to conform to average emissions of 95g/km, which is almost half the CO2 output of a typical 2-litre upper medium petrol car today.

"For many fleets, 2020 is only two-and-a-half replacement cycles away.

"Drivers in high-mileage, job-need roles cannot be safely required to drive very small cars, so the onus will be on manufacturers to deliver products that are appropriate for such drivers while still emitting much lower levels of CO2 than today."

He points to the new BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Saloon, which emits 109g/km of CO2. 

BMW owns Alphabet.

"I am confident that more and more such cars will become available from a range of manufacturers over the next few years," said Sinclair.

"As a multi-marque leasing company, we obviously welcome this trend."