Honda’s true fleet performance excludes rental and Motability sales and the increase has been driven by particularly strong results in March (up 15% on last year), April (up 55%), May (up 94%) and June (up 97%).

Honda’s British-built cars are the key models driving this growth, with the new Civic proving popular with corporate customers. The ninth generation version has accounted for more than 4,000 sales so far this year – three times as many as the same time in 2011.

Ed Hummel, manager – corporate operations at Honda (UK), commented; ‘Our customer base in the corporate sector has grown significantly this year, and the new Civic is proving to be a popular choice for company car drivers looking for a high power, low tax alternative to the more mainstream rivals.’