Volvo Car UK has experienced growth of more than 40% during the first half of 2010, as companies start to replace vehicles on extended company car contracts.

Company car drivers can now benefit from lower CO₂ emissions and improved fuel consumption, resulting in reduced Benefit in Kind. The lowest CO₂ variant of the V50 was the 2.0D, which emitted 154g/km. Today’s V50 1.6 DRIVe Start/Stop model emits 104g/km of CO₂, as well as returning 23.7mpg more than the old 2.0D.

"Engine technology has been developed dramatically since a typical lease car was registered in 2006. For instance, a 2011 V50 1.6D DRIVe with Start/Stop provides a 50g/km reduction in CO₂ emissions compared with the lowest CO₂-emitting 2006 model - the 2.0D. That is equivalent to a five tier drop in company car tax bands," said Selwyn Cooper, Volvo Car UK's National Corporate Operations Manager.

"We've seen a significant increase in orders during the last 6 months, with many fleets enquiring about getting their drivers into new cars with lower CO₂ emissions and better fuel consumption," he added.

Volvo has also announced an expansion in it’s Business Centre network, with two additional sites opening by the end of 2010, bringing the total to 25.

"We are talking to all our dealers about them developing sales people with business specialist skills in a bid to make the most of the launch of the all-new Volvo S60 and our range of DRIVe cars," said Selwyn. "We must build on our current corporate sales success as it is becoming an increasingly important part of Volvo's future growth ambition," he added.

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