The new generation of woodworking machinery made by Biesse UK is reducing CO2 emissions - as are the latest additions to the company's car fleet, six top-of-the-range Toyota Prius T Spirit hatchbacks with Hybrid Synergy Drive.

Northants-based Biesse is a subsidiary of Biesse Group Spa, manufacturer of industrial machines for wood, glass and stone-working. It has been running a fleet of 25 Toyota Avensis cars for the past six years and has now decided to provide its area sales managers and technical service engineers with the Toyota hybrids.

"Our criteria for choosing the Prius included tax efficiency, overall running costs and the eco-friendly involvement," said Biesse UK's financial controller Ken Stanford.

The cars, which boast a combined fuel economy of 72mpg and 89g/km CO2 emissions, have been supplied through North Herts Toyota of Letchworth and are on contract hire from Toyota Financial Services. They are on a range of three-year contracts, with drivers variously expected to cover 20,000, 30,000 or 40,000 miles a year.

"The overall feedback from the drivers is that they're happy with their new vehicles - and also pleasantly surprised," said Stanford.

Key features of the five-door Toyota Prius T Spirit includes three selectable driving modes (EV, ECO and Power); heads-up display, seven airbags, VSC+ stability control, smart entry and start, automatic air-conditioning, heated mirrors, front fog lamps, and six-speaker CD player.