The news follows the meeting last week of the BVRLA's rental and leasing members with the SMMT to discuss how the low-carbon vehicle market will impact on the leasing and rental of cars and commercial vehicles.

Industry updates were presented by Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive, as well as John Lewis, chief executive of the BVRLA, before the fleet operators' view on low-carbon fleets was discussed by executives from Hertz and LeasePlan.

Covering topics which included safety, battery charging and disposal, mileage range, residual values, incentives and government support, vehicle manufacturer representatives from Renault and Vauxhall also gave their perspective on electric vehicle uptake and the pace of improvements in low-carbon technology.

Paul Everitt and John Lewis co-chaired the meeting, attended by more than 80 delegates, which was followed by opportunities to test-drive a number of electric vehicles throughout the afternoon.