In 2009/10 – the most recent year where HMRC has not based its figures on projections – about 60% of company car drivers had cars emitting less than 165g/km of CO2, but 81% had emissions from 135g/km.

Mike Moore, director of Deloitte Car Consulting, said: “The most recent year not based on projections, 2009/10, shows that, of the £3.3bn tax and NI receipts for benefits, 61% is derived from company cars and fuel.

“Company cars are the second most prolific after private medical cover and, excluding accommodation, the most expensive benefit value.”

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) predicts that the Government faces a £13bn shortfall in motoring taxes by the end of the next decade.

In its report for the RAC Foundation, Fuel for Thought, the IFS said the scale of the problem is equivalent to increasing the basic rate of income tax from 20p to 23.4p, VAT from 20% to 22.7% or raising fuel duty by more than 50%.

One option being considered to help plug the gap would be to replace VED with a one-off up-front charge on new vehicles when they are sold.

Jenner said: “I hope that the company car driver is not seen as an easy target in gathering this revenue.”

However, the fear is that fleets are unlikely to get any respite from Treasury. With motoring set to remain a cash cow for the Government, further fuel duty increases and the spectre of road tolls will remain on the horizon.

Company car: a declining benefit

Seven years ago there were 1.2 million company cars liable for BIK, but this has fallen by 21% to 950,000 cars in 2010/11.

MHA MacIntyre Hudson recently looked at the UK car company population and predicted a similar downward trend which is evident in the HMRC figures.

Tax director Alastair Kendrick believes the Government’s “aggressive plan” for company car taxation will continue to drive numbers down, as well as a growth in foreign business ownership.

“In other countries it is not the custom to provide a car in the benefit package to employees,” explained Kendrick. “In my experience, there are a growing number of employees who are simply cashing out.”

However, the FN50 reveals that there were 970,000 cars being leased to fleets in 2011 (although this is down 1.7% year-on-year).

There are also a significant number of fleets that outright purchase their cars.

The difference could be explained by pool cars, police cars and company cars used purely for business purposes.

“What these BIK figures tell us is that the company car tax regime is beginning to tax some people out of private use,” explained BVRLA chief executive John Lewis.

This view appears to be backed by HMRC estimates for the number of new cars operated by businesses and qualifying for capital allowances from 2012/13 to 2016/17.

It estimates 1.1 million cars for this tax year rising to 1.2 million in four years’ time.

Jeff Whitcombe, director at BCF Wessex, said: “The factors that have influenced the reduction in the number of company cars are wide-ranging, but the worst economic climate in living memory must surely have been the single-most influential factor.

“With company car tax rates set for the next five years, as the economy improves I would encourage drivers and employers to use this to their advantage by planning ahead, focusing on the value of the company car.

“Even at the 2016 tax rates the company car should continue to be a highly tax-efficient means of remunerating employees.”