Octopus EV unveils second-hand salary sacrifice scheme in the UK

Octopus Electric Vehicles, part of Octopus Energy Group, has launched a second-hand leasing offering for electric cars. “We’re making the switch to electric driving the cheapest it has ever been,” says the press release.

Octopus’ ‘Nearly New’ salary sacrifice offer makes EVs more accessible to the mass market by reducing costs. Drivers can access popular EV models in the UK like the Renault Zoe, Peugeot e-208, and Vauxhall Mokka-e for roughly £300 (± €350) a month, including ‘fuel’, insurance, and maintenance costs.

Octopus has built on the success of its flagship salary sacrifice offer, which launched in 2021, and now works with more than 3 500 companies to boost their employee benefits package and help their staff go electric.

Octopus’ salary sacrifice helps drivers save 30-40% monthly by paying through their gross salary. Octopus offers an easy all-in-one service, using an electric car, charger, and discounted energy tariff.

Wide range

Octopus offers a wide range of electric cars under their second-hand scheme, from the upper end to the more affordable side of the market. When you consider the total running costs, drivers can get a Tesla Model 3, one of the most popular EVs in the UK, for half the price of the same model on a personal lease. In addition, monthly costs are more than 55% cheaper than, for example, leasing a BMW 3 Series.

All cars are less than two years old and have been fully serviced. The offer opens up a new segment of the electric car market, says Octopus EV, making these new green and cheaper-to-run cars more affordable for those who may not have previously considered one.

Four out of five are second-hand

Fiona Howarth, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles, commented: “Used cars make up more than four out of five car sales in the UK, and so to reach net zero transport, we need to build a strong second-hand market for electric cars. As with all tech, the early models are expensive, but with a growing fleet of second-hand cars, you can now run one of these high-tech, green, fun cars for half the price of an old-school gas guzzler.”

“Leasing for EVs is an attractive option for people looking to go electric, allowing drivers to switch to the latest tech every few years and take advantage of low fuel costs,” she added. “Very few of our drivers ever look back, and now going electric is even more affordable, opening it up to more drivers that may not have previously considered it.”

Octopus  Electric Vehicles

Octopus Electric Vehicles is part of the Octopus Energy Group. It was launched in 2018 to make it easier for drivers to switch to clean, electric transport. It has 85 electric car models now available from 28 different brands.

Offering an all-in-one service, Octopus Electric Vehicles leases the cars, installs charge points, provides specialist EV energy tariffs, and gives access to over 430 000 public charge points across Europe via Octopus Electroverse.

Octopus Electric Vehicles also specializes in salary sacrifice schemes, an employee benefit that makes driving a brand new electric car cheaper than the gasoline or diesel equivalent through tax savings. Placing customer experience first, Octopus Electric Vehicles claims to have designed a simple scheme for an employer to set up and run. They will have support at every step.

This summer, Octopus Electric Vehicles announced that it had reached £650 million of electric car funding to support its salary sacrifice offering further. The EV specialist business has increased its headcount tenfold since May 2021. It also recently took its EV expertise to America with the launch of Octopus Electric Vehicles in the US.