Adding to its portfolio, the energy provider Octopus has launched a new leasing service – Electric Dreams – offering 100% electric car salary sacrifice schemes, to save employees thousands as they switch to clean green driving.
Similar to the popular cycle-to-work scheme, employers can give their staff a highly valuable benefit that is also good for the planet. 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 incredibly low Benefit in Kind (BiK) tax rates on electric cars, which is just 1% for tax year 2021-22, and 2% for the three years following.
Octopus, who already offer business and personal leasing through its Octopus Electric Vehicles brand, has designed their scheme to be low effort and zero cost for a business to set up. From launch, Octopus experts are available to 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.
Businesses of all sizes are eligible for the Octopus Electric Vehicles scheme, in contrast to some schemes which are only available to large employers.
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.”
15 companies are already live on the scheme, including Huel and Purplebricks, making it available to 1,491 employees across the UK.
James McMaster, CEO at Huel, said:
“We’re not the sort of company that would go with a traditional car scheme. Being able to offer something that promotes cleaner transport has been a real benefit to helping our team live our mission of a more sustainable world – they are amazed at what a brilliant deal this is.”
With over 30 cars that can travel over 100 miles on a single charge, drivers can choose from a variety of brands including Porsche, Renault, Jaguar, KIA, Polestar and Tesla Model S.
In return for a single monthly sacrifice tax-free from their gross salary, each employee who orders an EV will benefit from:
- A fully insured and maintained EV
- Access to EV Specialists to help them through their journey
- Zero deposit or upfront costs
- Additional government and council incentives including grants and waived congestion fees
- 90% lower ‘fuel’ costs vs petrol or diesel cars
- If ordering before July, drivers will also receive a free smart home charge point, fully installed by the Octopus Energy Services team.
- If taking home energy from Octopus Energy, drivers also receive enough free renewable electricity to drive 8,000 miles – equivalent to the average UK driver’s mileage for an entire year.
Partners including Close Brothers and Lloyd Latchford will provide Octopus with financing and insurance services respectively. Octopus will provide first-class customer service for both the businesses and employees
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.