According to a new survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 7 in 10 companies in the United Kingdom offer employees the choice between a company car and a cash allowance. The average annual car allowance for company heads is £10,300 ($18,080). Senior managers, middle/junior managers and sales representatives receive £8,200 ($14,394), £6,500 ($11,410) and £5,200 ($9,128) a year on average respectively. Professionals receive the lowest average allowance of £4,600 ($8,075) - less than half the allowance for company heads. The survey, involving 245 UK companies, focuses on the prevalence and features of car benefits together with the related tax issues. The data is used to help companies set their car benefit policies. For employees who opt to receive a car instead of an allowance, the typical purchase price varies significantly according to job role. For example, the average cost of a car for company heads is double that of a car for professionals - £32,800 ($57,577) and £16,000 ($28,086) respectively. Forty percent of organizations allow employees to purchase the car at the end of the replacement period. Mercedes 320 is the most typical car for company heads, while senior managers generally opt for a BMW 5 Series. Typical cars for lower-ranking employees include Audi A4, VW Passat and Vauxhall Vectra. Over 8 in 10 companies pay for all fuel used by company heads and senior managers (85 percent and 83 percent respectively), while the remaining organizations pay for fuel used for business purposes only. In contrast, less than 4 in 10 companies (37 percent) pay professionals for all fuel used. The survey, part of an International survey involving 5,100 companies in 45 countries, found that car use also depends on workplace status. For example, 94 percent of company heads can use their cars for business and personal purposes compared with 47 percent of sales representatives and 35 percent of professionals.