Another company that has done well this year is Volvo (up 32.5% YTD) a manufacturer which has really concentrated on fuel-efficient diesel models.

Volvo has publicly credited part of its success to the fact that it can offer some very low CO2 models, such as the new 99g/km C30 and 119 g/km Volvo S80. Looking at the market as a whole, it is clear that Volvo’s contention is absolutely right.

The proportion of fleet cars that are under the 160g/km of CO2 tax break has gone up from 61.6% in 2008 to 80.8% in 2010. That is a remarkable rate of growth, partly caused by many companies simply blacklisting any car that exceeds that figure (Directors transport excepted, of course).

Even more dramatically, the proportion of sub-120 g/km cars in the fleet market has gone up from 7.7% in 2008 to 23.2% in 2010.

The net result is that, for the first time ever, fleet cars now emit less CO2 on average than the overall market. The difference is still small (144.3 g/km for fleet against 144.7 g/km for the overall market), but it completely undermines the popular stereotype of retail buyers choosing eco-friendly superminis while company car drivers charge down the motorway in big gas-guzzling saloons.