Octopus Electric Vehicles has today announced the launch of a new leasing service offering full electric salary sacrifice schemes to employees.
According to Octopus, drivers currently signed up to its Electric Dreams scheme save an average of £14,445 over three years by sacrificing some pre-tax salary in return for a brand new EV.
The benefit is possible due to current low Benefit in Kind (BiK) tax rates on EVs, which is 1% for tax year 2021-22 and 2% for the three years following.
Previously, 16% BiK tax was applied to the vehicle and by comparison, combustion vehicles are still subject to an average of 27% BiK tax when using salary sacrifice.
Octopus said it has designed the scheme to be low effort and zero cost for a business to set up.
From launch, Octopus staff can help employees choose their cars and get set up with charge points and EV energy tariffs; as well as support the business with scheme documents, approvals and payroll.
Fiona Howarth, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles, said: “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.”
Businesses of all sizes are eligible for Electric Dreams, and some 15 companies are currently signed up to the scheme, including Huel and Purplebricks, making it available to 1,491 employees across the UK.
The service provides more than 30 EVs that can travel over 100 miles on a single charge. Drivers can choose from a selection of brands including Porsche, Renault, Jaguar, Kia, Polestar and Tesla.
Partners including Close Brothers and Lloyd Latchford will provide Octopus with financing and insurance services respectively. Octopus will provide customer service for both the businesses and employees
Drivers ordering before July will receive a smart home charge point installed for free. And those with Octopus Energy will receive enough free renewable energy to drive 8,000 miles.
