Lower emissions for Infiniti M35h

Nissan’s luxury brand, Infiniti, is making an effort to appeal to company car drivers by lowering CO2 emissions on its M35h hybrid saloon.

Tweaks to the electric motor to improve accuracy and charging technology means the car can now be started from cold on electric power only, hence lowering CO2 emissions and providing a fuel economy improvement.

Although nowhere near as low as competitors from BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the shape of the 5 Series ED and E-Class BlueEfficiency models, the hybrid M now emits 159g/km of CO2. This means fleet managers can claim 20% Write Down Allowance (WDA) instead of the 10% WDA for cars over 160g/km. This will save fleet managers a fair amount of cash, meaning the M35h is likely to appear on more fleet lists.

There’s also a slight reduction in BIK band, from 23% to 22%, meaning a 40% tax payer should save around £180 per year. You should now expect to pay around £345 per month on the 40% pay scale.

Fuel economy is up slightly too, from 40.4mpg to 40.9mpg on the combined cycle. Power remains the same at 359bhp, meaning a sprint to 62mph in 5.5 seconds.

Infiniti’s UK fleet manager, Simon Lewis, said: “The Infiniti M35h is already popular with companies seeking a luxury saloon with no compromise on performance or fuel consumption. Now with its no-compromise approach to running costs, it offers fleet buyers a car that is both hugely enticing and entirely sensible – a combination we think they will approve of.”

The new 2012 M35h has a list price of £46,840.