We welcome the figures that show an increase in the number of new cars registered to fleets in 2014 (see panel) – figures that our own statistics back up showing that the fleet leasing sector also had a good year.

New fleet registrations hit a seven-year high, up nearly nine percent on 2013, and we saw consistent growth in the fleet leasing sector, with volumes up around 6%.

The BVRLA expects to see a further, steady increase in new leasing volumes this year. Demand for vehicle finance continues to grow – particularly from consumers, SMEs and salary sacrifice customers.

As fleets seek lower running costs, demand for more efficient cars has grown, and the BVRLA expects to see average CO2 emissions for the lease fleet fall below 120g/km of CO2 for the first time in 2015.

The association also predicts a continued trickle away from diesel cars into smaller-engined petrol or hybrid vehicles.

This shift has already started to take place, and 2014 saw a surge in demand for ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs). Registrations of plug-in cars increased four-fold from 3,586 in 2013 to 14,498 in 2014, and the BVRLA expects this to continue as ULEVs offer increased efficiency and reduced running costs.

According to the latest data from Oxford Economics, the UK rental and leasing sector purchases more than 1.5million vehicles (including 308,000 UK-made vehicles) per annum. The sector therefore makes a huge contribution to UK GDP, bringing the newest, cleanest and safest vehicles onto UK roads.