Honda dealers should see an increase in fleet sales with the launch of the new sports-hybrid CR-Z, which is expected to make in-roads into fleets with CO2 caps.

Graham Avent, manager of corporate operations at Honda, said many fleets have already registered interests in corporate demonstrators before deliveries begin in June.

The CR-Z has a petrol-electric powertrain similar to that in the Honda Insight, but has a larger, more powerful engine, a manual gearbox and is lighter.

Provisional figures show it produces 117g/km, and achieves 56.5mpg on the combined cycle, and unlike previous hybrid cars has been designed to feel engaging on the road and appeal to drivers in sporty hatchbacks and coupés.

“We’ve had a lot of interest from fleet managers in the product before information became available about it,” said Avent, “And we’re already allocating corporate demonstrators.

“Although we haven’t specifically benchmarked it against the Mini, we believe it will appeal to some company car drivers who have chosen a Mini.”

He added that although the initial fleet share of CR-Z volume will be small, he believed it would ultimately account for 40% of sales in the UK.