The cost of refuelling the 122,500 cars in Alphabet’s combined vehicle portfolio of 131,000 cars and commercial vehicles has fallen by up to £750,000 a week, said the business mobility specialist. At the end of January 2015, Alphabet calculated its vehicles were using £4.3m of petrol and diesel a week, compared to £5.0 million in September 2014 and nearly £5.5 million a week in 2013.

Between 15 September 2014 and 1 February 2015, the Brent Crude oil price benchmark slumped 51%, from $100 to $46. Should oil average $60 per barrel in 2015, Alphabet customers and drivers would save £40 million over the year on fuel compared to 2014.

However, Mark Gibson, head of marketing and business development at Alphabet, cautioned fleet operators not to plan on fuel prices staying down for the long term.

‘Non-OPEC oil producers are already cutting jobs and capital expenditure deeply, which will feed through as reduced supply later this year,’ he said. ‘Once the current excess inventory is used up, the oil price is expected to climb again as demand exceeds supply, followed by an increase in the cost of diesel and petrol.’

Gibson added: 'The big picture to keep in mind when developing the plans for the future of your vehicle fleet is that the worldwide number of vehicles has increased by 35% since 2005, while the supply of petroleum fuel has only risen by 12%. Therefore basic economics suggests that the periods when fuel prices reduce in future will be the exception, rather than the rule. Which is why, Alphabet is leading the way in assisting our customers to plan ahead to meet their current and future mobility requirements. This could be through smarter funding options and more efficient fleet management, as well as through more advanced mobility solutions, such as AlphaElectric which helps customers incorporate both internal combustion engine cars and electric vehicles where appropriate or innovative approaches to corporate carsharing, such as our AlphaCity solution.’