Reaction to the scheme, which went live at the beginning of September, has been ‘extremely positive’, said Ricardo HR manager, Liane Richardson.

‘Although we have not set a carbon cap for vehicles available on the scheme to give our employees as wide a choice as possible, early indications are that staff are selecting environmentally friendly cars which have the lowest emissions as they are typically the most cost effective,’ she said.

Cars selected on the scheme so far include the Peugeot 107, Citroen DS3 and several SEAT models, including the Ibiza and Leon. Staff can select up to two new cars each for themselves and for spouses and family members.

Ricardo communicated the new employee benefit to staff using a variety of communication means including posters, roadshows and employee briefings. All staff can access the scheme through a specially developed web portal and can sign up to it at any time during the year.

Liane Richardson added: ‘We found the implementation of the scheme went very smoothly, with the Tusker team taking us through the process on a step by step basis, answering any queries we had along the way. It was a completely painless process to go through.’

David Hosking, managing director of Tusker, said: ‘We are delighted to have been chosen by Ricardo to provide their employees with the choice of a low-cost, tax-efficient new car.  Interest and uptake of salary sacrifice car schemes are accelerating and we are expanding our business rapidly to ensure we keep pace with demand.’