Toyota enters into partnership with LeasePlan on new Prius

Toyota said the Prius Plug-in, a mid-sized plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (EV), will cost £31,000 before the Government’s £5000 Plug-in Car Grant and the carmaker expects it to appeal to fleet operators because of the company tax benefits the low emission car brings with it. Although yet to be officially approved, the Prius Plug-in has a combined cycle CO2 emissions of 49 grams per kilometre and 134.5 miles per gallon fuel economy, Toyota said. The carmaker said this means it will qualify for a Benefit-in-Kind company car tax rating of just five per cent for drivers, and consequently a monthly tax burden of less than £52 (for a 40 per cent tax payer, based on the guideline vehicle price). Furthermore, businesses will save on fleet costs thanks to a 100 per cent write-down allowance and lower National Insurance contributions.

"The introduction of Prius Plug-In Hybrid is a major step in our company’s journey towards sustainable mobility by reducing energy consumption, improving air quality and further curbing CO2 emissions," Didier Leroy, Toyota Motor Europe president, said. "We are very satisfied to work in partnership with LeasePlan; by endorsing our technology, LeasePlan will not only help us to raise awareness and understanding, but also enable us to engage with their customer base."

LeasePlan said the partnership would enable it to progress its own sustainable mobility programme. "We are excited to enter into this new partnership. For many years we have worked with our clients on improving both operational and environmental fleet performance," Vahid Daemi, Chairman of the Managing Board and ceo of LeasePlan, said. "The insights we will gain through this relationship will be valuable to our sustainable mobility approach and will further support our global GreenPlan service."

Toyota already has over 3.3 million hybrid EVs on the road.