A VEHICLE hire and lease specialist in York has fulfilled its ambition of having 100 pure electric cars in its fleet by 2020.

Autohorn Fleet Services reached its target after taking delivery of a new BMW i3.

Now, a range of hybrid, self-charging and electric vehicles make up more than 25 per cent of its fleet.

Autohorn specialises in fleet management for companies, offering services such as vehicle hire and leasing, fuel management, driver training and accident management.

Having started in 1995, with nine cars and five staff members, the company now has a £39 million turnover, and buys more than £30 million worth of vehicles annually with a team of 70 staff.

The company is planning to expand its fleet by a further 1500 vehicles over the next five years and take on between 25 and 40 new staff across the business.

Reducing emissions and its environmental footprint is at the heart of Autohorn’s operations.

With one of the greenest fleets in Yorkshire, it offers a range of electric vehicles from BMW, Kia, Jaguar, Tesla and Audi.

Autohorn also has seven of its own electric charging points across York.

Managing director, Lee Underwood, said they were delighted to have achieved their target of having 100 electric cars in their fleet by 2020 to cater for the growing demand.

"Electric vehicles are also becoming increasingly popular as company cars as they currently benefit from a zero percent Benefit-in-Kind tax rate and, with several other government initiatives, they are not only better for the environment, but also better financially.”

Autohorn's’ commitment to supplying electric vehicles has seen them awarded Go Ultra Low Company status - a government and automotive industry initiative which promotes the work of UK organisations.

Cllr Paula Widdowson, City of York Council executive member for environment and climate Change, said: “I am delighted to see that yet again Yorkshire is leading the way in sustainability. Autohorn have shown real commitment to furnish their customers needs and protect the environment by providing an exciting new green fleet. Well done.”

Autohorn Fleet Services director, Scott Jenkins, also sits on the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) rental committee and has participated in government-led consultations surrounding the future of low emission motoring as well as providing advice to other companies about how to transition to operating electric vehicles.