The car, which will be available for early test drives at the <a href=http://bit.ly/15KzfzN>Fleet World Fleet Show</a> next month, is the world’s first diesel-electric plug-in hybrid, using 215bhp five-cylinder diesel to power the front wheels and 70bhp electric motor at the rear. Both can power the car independently, or work in tandem, allowing the V60 D6 to cover 31 miles on a full charge at speeds of up to 75mph.

As a result, official figures are 155.2mpg on the combined cycle, equating to CO2 emissions of 48g/km and a resulting Benefit in Kind tax banding of 5%, rising to 7% from 2017. In turn, this allows it to undercut other executive cars on tax liability, despite its £43,775 on-the-road price with the £5,000 government plug-in car grant.

The V60 Plug-in Hybrid has been available throughout Europe for several months, but its UK introduction was delayed so it could be introduced with the 2014 model year styling revisions. A single high-specification version will be offered for British buyers, and dealers are already being trained in special sales and hand-over techniques because of the car’s variety of drive modes.

Click here for our first drive of the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid