The impact of progressive changes made to CO2-based benefit-in-kind (BIK) taxation and to corporation tax in the UK since 2019 has given company car drivers a pretty stark choice: opt out of your employer's fleet scheme and into the car market first hand, or stay in and switch to a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) car.
The legacy of those changes can already be seen in the growing popularity of PHEV executive cars. As those cars attract a greater following, so the number of models competing grows. There are now many more electrified executive cars than we can list in a top 10 chart, ranging from sub-£40,000 options to more expensive pseudo-performance models.
For all of them, annual BIK tax liability can be roughly worked out in same way: by multiplying the car's P11d showroom price by its BIK tax bracket, and then by your own income tax rate. A plug-in hybrid's BIK classification, meanwhile, is defined in part by its CO2 emissions and in part by its electric-only range. So right now, for the 2022-23 tax year, the most tax-efficient cars in this list could qualify for BIK at just 8% of their showroom value and the least efficient, depending on individual specification, could cost as much as 15%. (To a typical company car driver, the difference between the two could be worth well over £100 a month.) Most conventionally powered executive cars, by contrast, now qualify for BIK company car tax at 30% or more
As many company car drivers will have already discovered to their cost, if you want to continue paying anything like the same BIK tax on a company car in 2021 as you have in past, the only way to do it – if you haven’t already – is to move out of a petrol or diesel car and into a PHEV. These are the cars you should be considering for that big move.
1. Mercedes-Benz C300e
Having been in a period of relative stability for 18 months or so, the plug-in hybrid executive car segment is about to go into another phase of rapid change, with fresh metal waiting in the wings to bring big improvements in real-world electric range to the class. And the first car to have hit the ground ready to lead the change is the latest W206-generation Mercedes C-Class, which launches in the UK in PHEV form later this year.
Packing a drive battery twice the size of many of its rivals', the new C300e brings with it a claimed WLTP electric range of 62 miles. That's enough not only to make the car particularly tax-efficient, but also to make a big difference to the saving the car could deliver for drivers who pay for their own fuel. DC rapid charging is also available as an option, at speeds of up to 55kW.
The C300e's powerplant comprises a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine and a 127bhp electric motor and makes 308bhp in all, in a car that can crack 62mph from rest in just 6.1sec. The model is available in both saloon and estate bodystyles with no significant compromise to either passenger or boot space.
So far, we've driven only a left-hand-drive example on UK roads, but it impressed us with its refinement and isolation, and also with its laid-back, luxury-first, S-Class-in-miniature vibes. Keener drivers may probably still prefer to shop elsewhere - but for most fleet drivers and operators, the C300e is sure to be a popular option.
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Either the writer of this article is ignorant or incompetent as BMW will sell you a 330e PHEV Touring (estate) or a 530e PHEV Touring (estate) with either rear wheel drive or all wheel drive. Both the 330e and 530e Touring have been in the price list for around 4 to 6 months depending on model and are available to order. Just another example of Autocar's declining journalism.