Octopus launches EV salary sacrifice business

Octopus Electric Vehicles has launched a new leasing service offering electric cars on a salary sacrifice scheme.

The company claims that drivers already signed up are saving an average of £14,445 over three years, by sacrificing some pre-tax salary in return for a brand new electric car.

The benefit is made possible due to the low Benefit-in-kind (BiK) tax rates on electric cars, which is 1% for tax year 2021-22, and 2% for the three years following.

Octopus says it has designed the scheme, called Electric Dreams, to be low effort and zero cost for a business to set up. From launch, its team is available to help employees choose a car and get set up with charge points and EV energy tariffs; as well as support the business with scheme documents, approvals and payroll.

There are 15 companies already live on the scheme, including Huel and Purplebricks, making it available to 1,491 employees across the UK.

Fiona Howarth, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles, said: “Businesses and employees across the UK are searching for ways to do their bit for the environment. We have seen a seven-fold jump in salary sacrifice enquiries in the last year. If businesses in the UK introduce a scheme like this, they have the power to significantly reduce transport emissions across the UK by 2030.”

Partners including Close Brothers and Lloyd Latchford will provide financing and insurance services respectively. Octopus will provide customer service for both the businesses and employees

Businesses of all sizes are eligible for the Octopus Electric Vehicles scheme, in contrast to some schemes which are only available to large employers.

Drivers ordering before July will get a smart home charge point installed for free. And those with Octopus Energy will receive enough free renewable energy to drive 8,000 miles, enough to power the average UK driver for a year.

Read more about the Octopus Electric Dreams scheme in the April edition of Fleet News.