The call comes as diesel hit a new price high of 143.05ppl, according to data from the Retail Motor Industry Federation. The previous record high for diesel was 143.04ppl in May last year at the height of the Arab Spring uprisings. The rising cost of diesel now means that to fill up a car or van which has an 80-litre fuel tank costs £24 more now than it did in February 2010 (£90 v £114, according to the AA).

Jon Tandy, business development manager at Mycompanyfleet, said: 'Even if the Government did decide to scrap the planned increases in August, which we are calling on them to do, fleet managers should not take their eye off rising fuel costs, which remain high on their list of concerns.

'High fuel prices are here to stay and fleet managers cannot afford to ignore this because they will continue to eat into profit margins and slow economic recovery.'

Tandy says fleets need to make full use of the tools at their disposal, notably online systems to analyse fuel spend and identify areas were action can be taken to reduce costs.