The two companies had formed an agreement in October 2012 to deploy 50 of the Chinese carmaker’s electric vehicles for use in the capital. In a joint statement, the two companies said that discussions since had been productive, but they had mutually decided not to pursue the venture further.

Greentomatocars is still hoping to roll out electric vehicles on its fleet, which is mainly composed of Toyota Prius hybrids, and said it tests of alternative fuel vehicles were ongoing.

Hamish Phillips, of Greentomatocars, said: ‘We have an internal innovation project that looks specifically at developments in alternative fuel vehicles so we’re very aware that the market is maturing rapidly,’ he said.

‘At the moment we’re very interested in the Tesla Model S – it’s a beautiful car, and takes the electric vehicle to another level, beating many of its equivalent ICE equivalents. Last week we were also test-driving the Hyundai ix35, their Fuel Cell EV. We know that Toyota are also very keen on this technology so will be keeping a very close eye on how things develop.’

BYD is also pursuing other private hire ventures in London. Last week, the company launched a fleet of 20 e6 EVs with Thriev, based out a facility in Edgware Road. The e6 offers a range of 186 miles from a full charge.