Motorists would rather pay more tax than lose the place in the corporate pecking order conferred on them by their company cars. And it is the company car — which accounts for half of all new motor sales each year — which continues to be the key method of measuring your progress up the greasy pole. Although a Roll-Royce or Bentley is the ultimate success symbol, a Jaguar is still desired by most top directors, according to the survey by top people’s pay and perks experts at the Monks Partnership.About 40 per cent of company cars are perks rather than necessities for the job, even though the average company car driver with a 1, 500cc engine is paying more than three times as much in tax compared to a decade ago. Average cash allowances for a company car rise from ￡1,500 for those whose job requires them to have four wheels, to ￡4,000 for chief executives. For company chairmen, the BMW 7 series and Jaguar’s Daimler Double Six top the list of favored cars, with upper range Mercedes-Benz models close behind. The chief executive’s tastes follow a similar pattern with Jaguar’s Sovereign 4.0 litre and XJ6 3.2, Mercedes-Benz’s 320/300 and the BMX 7—series proving most popular. For other directors, the BMX 5 series is tops, followed by the Mercedes-Benz 200series, Jaguar’s XJ6 3.2 and the Rover 800 series. Senior managers favor the BMX 3 and 5 series, depending on their rank and company size. Sales representatives drive the 1. 8 and 1. 6 litre Ford Mondeos, Rover 200 and 400 series and Peugeot’s 405. Top of the prohibited list are sports cars and convertibles. But British policies are being relaxed, with 64 percent of companies offering Japanese cars. The practice of employees trading up by making cash contribution to the value of the car they want is becoming more common, with some firms reporting take-up rates in excess of 70 percent.

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