[Floriank]

Simple Calculation as a UK Tax Payer for Company Car purposes:

X5 40d 7-seat with some options:
£59,720 on the road
Annual 'Road Tax' £180
Personal Car Tax £6,928
Personal Fuel Tax £2,564
Total Annual Tax Bill: £9,672

Volvo XC90 Momentum T8 7-seat (basic spec is already higher than the X5 above)
£59,955 on the road
Annual 'Road Tax' £0
Personal Car Tax £2,156
Personal Fuel Tax £796
Total Annual Tax Bill: £2,952

Over the 3 years I normally keep a vehicle, the T8 will give me a minimum Tax saving of £20,160

And, as a business owner I can write off the full £59,955 for the plug-in hybrid against Corporation Tax in the first year.

There's your reason for buying a plug-in hybrid, here in the UK at least. I don't have the official tax figures for the X5 40e yet but as it has a higher CO2 output, the tax benefits will be quite a bit less compared with the T8

Now let's see, a hybrid (even the T8 with it's near 400hp output) will be a little less satisfying to drive than a V8 but hey, £20,160 might just buy me a little toy for weekend trips to make up for it...