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HMRC have published a summary of the changes to the car benefit rules, which take effect from 6 April 2008.

The car benefit charge for a full year is obtained by multiplying the price of the car for tax purposes (in most cases, its list price plus accessories less capital contributions) by the 'appropriate percentage'. A more detailed guide is available for employees in the HMRC Self Assessment help sheet IR203, and for employers in HMRC booklet 480.

The 'appropriate percentage' is based on the car's approved CO2 emissions figure. There are some supplements and reductions to take account of different fuels. The rules governing the calculation of the appropriate percentage change in the following three ways with effect from 6 April 2008:

• The lower threshold, the CO2 emissions figure which determines the appropriate percentage for all cars, is reduced from 140 to 135;
• A new '10 per cent band' is introduced for cars with a CO2 emissions figure of exactly 120 g/km or lower, the normal rounding does not apply to this figure. They are called 'qualifying low emissions cars' in the legislation, QUALECs for short. Diesel adjustments apply to QUALECs as to all others, but that is all; no other reduction which is available on other cars applies to QUALECs. As a result, the only acceptable figures for the appropriate percentage for QUALECs are 13 per cent - cars to which the diesel supplement applies, and 10 per cent - all other cars. So there is no misunderstanding, electric-only cars are excluded from these arrangements and retain their net appropriate percentage of 9 percent;
• There is a new 2 per cent reduction for cars manufactured to be able to run on E85 fuel, a mixture of 85 per cent bio-ethanol and 15 percent unleaded petrol. They will be known as type G on forms P46 (car) and P11D. Other cars cannot run on this mixture without damaging the engine. 
  

Link

HMRC: Company car and car fuel benefit calculator