DriveElectric Alternatives: Best EV Salary Sacrifice Schemes in the UK (2026)
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What Is DriveElectric?
DriveElectric is one of the UK's longest-established electric vehicle leasing specialists, having offered EV leasing since 2008. Today, the company operates as a trading name of Fleetdrive Management Limited and offers a range of services to businesses and individuals, including personal electric car leasing, business contract hire, fleet management, and an EV salary sacrifice scheme for employers.
DriveElectric positions its salary sacrifice offering as a "hassle-free, low-risk way" for employers to provide electric cars to employees, with packages covering servicing, maintenance, tyres, breakdown, insurance (on certain tiers), and Road Fund Licence. Their salary sacrifice scheme is structured across three package tiers — Core, Plus, and Complete — with the Complete package including Early Termination Protection.
It's worth noting that DriveElectric is structured primarily as an EV leasing broker. Salary sacrifice is one product within a broader service portfolio that also covers fleet management, short-term hire, and van leasing. This is a meaningful distinction when comparing it against providers built specifically around electric car salary sacrifice schemes.
Is DriveElectric an EV Salary Sacrifice Provider?
Yes — DriveElectric does offer EV salary sacrifice. However, it is important to understand how its offering compares to dedicated salary sacrifice providers, particularly on the details that matter most to employers and employees: the depth of employer protection, the breadth of vehicle pricing, charging solutions, and overall cost savings.
The key differences become clear when you look beyond headline features and examine the specifics.
DriveElectric vs The Electric Car Scheme: Key Differences
Employer Protection
This is perhaps the most important consideration for any HR or finance team evaluating an electric car scheme UK.
DriveElectric offers Early Termination Protection, but only as part of its "Complete" package — it is not included as standard. The protection also includes a three-month waiting period before certain scenarios are covered, meaning employers carry financial risk during the early months of any employee's lease.
The Electric Car Scheme offers Complete Employer Protection as standard from Day 1, with no exclusion period. This covers employers immediately in the event of employee resignation, redundancy, dismissal, long-term illness, maternity leave, or failure to pay for vehicle damage or fees. There is no additional cost, no excess to pay, and no cap on the number of vehicles covered.
For businesses with high staff turnover, rapid headcount changes, or employees on variable contracts, this distinction is significant.
Savings for Employees
DriveElectric advertises employee savings of up to 40% through its EV salary sacrifice scheme.
Through The Electric Car Scheme, employees can save 20–50% on any brand-new electric car — with access to multiple leasing funders enabling more competitive pricing. The combination of Income Tax savings, National Insurance savings, and the current 3% BiK rate means that for many employees, particularly higher-rate taxpayers, the savings sit comfortably at the upper end of that range.
For example, an employee leasing an MG4 through The Electric Car Scheme on a salary of £70,000 pays a net monthly cost of approximately £266 — compared to a gross monthly cost of £390 before salary sacrifice savings are applied. That is a saving of £124 per month, or over £4,400 across a three-year lease. You can explore your own figures using The Electric Car Scheme's salary sacrifice calculator.
Vehicle Pricing and Funder Access
DriveElectric is an independent leasing broker working with a panel of funders. This is broadly comparable to how The Electric Car Scheme operates — using access to multiple leasing companies to source competitive pricing across a wide range of electric cars.
However, The Electric Car Scheme has grown to become one of the UK's largest dedicated salary sacrifice providers, with a funder network specifically optimised for the salary sacrifice structure. This means pricing is consistently benchmarked across the market, and employees can browse new and used electric cars from a wide range of manufacturers.
For used cars specifically, The Electric Car Scheme offers the UK's largest selection of used electric cars available through salary sacrifice, sourced from multiple trusted leasing companies with typical delivery in around 14 days.
EV Charging
This is an area where The Electric Car Scheme has a clear and unique advantage.
DriveElectric offers charging solutions as part of its broader business services, including workplace charging infrastructure and energy management tools for fleet operators. For individual employees, home charger installation can be included in the package.
The Electric Car Scheme offers The Charge Scheme — an industry-first salary sacrifice add-on that allows employees to salary sacrifice the cost of their EV charging, whether at home, at work, or in public. This saves employees 20–50% on all charging costs. Employees receive a dedicated app and public charging card, making it a single, seamless solution for all charging needs.
No other UK salary sacrifice provider currently offers this capability. Combined with a partnership with OVO Energy offering 6,000 free miles and smart home charging at approximately 7p per kWh (around 2p per mile), The Charge Scheme substantially reduces the total cost of EV ownership for employees.
Service and Trustpilot Ratings
DriveElectric has an established reputation in the UK EV market with strong customer case studies from organisations including Norton Motorcycles, the Fully Charged Show, and Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
The Electric Car Scheme is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot, serving thousands of employers across the UK. It holds B Corp certification with a score of 104.3, reflecting measurable environmental and social standards, and has been named the UK's Best Salary Sacrifice Provider for 2025 by Car Sloth.
Summary Comparison Table
| Feature | The Electric Car Scheme | DriveElectric |
|---|---|---|
| Employee savings | 20–50% | Up to 40% |
| Employer protection | Day 1, all scenarios, no exclusions, included as standard | After 3 months, Complete package only |
| Used car availability | Yes — UK's largest selection, ~14-day delivery | Yes — available |
| EV charging solution | The Charge Scheme — 20–50% saving via salary sacrifice on all charging | Home charger installation, fleet energy tools |
| Funder access | Multiple funders | Panel of funders |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.8/5 | Not independently verified at time of writing |
| B Corp certified | Yes (104.3) | No |
| BiK rate (2025/26) | 3% | 3% |
| Set-up cost to employer | None | None |
Other EV Salary Sacrifice Alternatives to DriveElectric
If you are researching DriveElectric alternatives, it is worth looking at the full landscape of EV salary sacrifice providers in the UK. The most established include:
Octopus Electric Vehicles offers a well-rounded salary sacrifice scheme with a free home charger and 4,000 free charging miles included. However, Octopus owns the cars it leases, which can limit vehicle choice and pricing competitiveness. Employer protection also only activates after three months for scenarios such as resignation or redundancy.
LoveElectric is a Scotland-based provider with a solid early termination protection offering, though their standard protection begins after three to six months depending on the circumstance. Their "Zero Risk Guarantee" with Day 1 coverage comes at an additional cost of £9 per employee per month.
Tusker is one of the longest-running salary sacrifice providers in the market, with over a decade of experience. However, they do not currently offer EV charging incentives, and their used car offering is limited compared to other providers.
Select Car Leasing (SelectElectric) offers competitive pricing through multi-funder access, though protection cover comes at an additional cost rather than being included as standard.
For a detailed breakdown of how these providers compare, see our full salary sacrifice scheme comparison guide.
Why Employers Choose The Electric Car Scheme Over DriveElectric
The Electric Car Scheme was founded specifically to deliver electric car salary sacrifice — it is the core product, not one of several services. This focus translates into a more developed product with more comprehensive employer protection, more competitive vehicle pricing, and more innovative employee benefits like The Charge Scheme.
Key reasons UK employers choose The Electric Car Scheme include:
Complete Employer Protection from Day 1. No exclusion periods, no excess, no cap. Employers are fully protected from the moment an employee joins the scheme — including coverage for resignation, redundancy, long-term illness, maternity leave, and non-payment of damage fees.
The Charge Scheme. The only salary sacrifice scheme in the UK that lets employees sacrifice the cost of EV charging, saving 20–50% regardless of whether they charge at home, at work, or in public. This is particularly valuable for employees without a home charging setup.
Best prices available. By working with multiple leasing funders and benchmarking pricing across the market, The Electric Car Scheme consistently delivers competitive rates on both new and used electric cars. Employees can choose from any make or model — including popular choices like the Tesla Model 3, Volkswagen ID.3, Hyundai IONIQ 5, and Nissan Leaf.
No cost to employers. There is no net cost to set up or run the scheme. The Electric Car Scheme handles HR communications, payroll reporting, and ongoing support, with a dedicated Customer Success Manager for each employer.
B Corp certified. With a B Corp score of 104.3, The Electric Car Scheme is one of the few salary sacrifice providers to have achieved this standard — demonstrating genuine commitment to sustainability beyond simply facilitating EV adoption.
Is EV Salary Sacrifice Better Than Standard Leasing?
For most employees, yes — by a significant margin. With standard personal leasing or business contract hire, payments are made from post-tax income. With electric car salary sacrifice, the monthly cost is deducted from gross salary, reducing both Income Tax and National Insurance contributions.
Combined with the current 3% BiK rate for electric vehicles (compared to up to 37% for petrol and diesel cars), salary sacrifice is far more tax-efficient than any other route to driving a new electric car. The disadvantages of standard EV leasing — primarily the post-tax cost and the absence of BiK advantages — make it a considerably more expensive option for the same car.
For employers, salary sacrifice also generates National Insurance savings on the sacrificed salary portion, making it a genuinely cost-neutral or even cost-positive benefit to offer.
How to Get Started with The Electric Car Scheme
Getting started takes minutes. Employers can book a demo with a Salary Sacrifice Specialist who will walk through how the scheme works, answer questions on Complete Employer Protection, and help configure the right setup for your workforce.
Employees can get an instant quote using the salary sacrifice calculator — entering salary, preferred lease term, and mileage to see exactly how much they could save on any electric car.
With the UK's 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel car sales approaching, and BiK rates remaining at a historic low, there has never been a better time for employers to offer electric car salary sacrifice as a core employee benefit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is DriveElectric a salary sacrifice provider? Yes, DriveElectric offers an EV salary sacrifice scheme as part of its business services portfolio. It sits alongside other offerings including personal leasing, business contract hire, and fleet management.
How does DriveElectric's salary sacrifice compare to The Electric Car Scheme? The main differences are in employer protection (The Electric Car Scheme offers Day 1 coverage as standard; DriveElectric's Complete package protection begins after three months), employee savings (20–50% vs up to 40%), and charging solutions (The Electric Car Scheme uniquely offers The Charge Scheme for salary sacrifice on EV charging costs).
What is the current BiK rate for electric cars? The Benefit-in-Kind rate for electric vehicles is 3% for the 2025/26 tax year. This is significantly lower than the rates applied to petrol and diesel vehicles, which can reach up to 37%.
Can I salary sacrifice a used electric car? Yes. The Electric Car Scheme offers the UK's largest selection of used electric cars available through salary sacrifice, with delivery typically within 14 days. Used cars come with the same comprehensive package as new vehicles, including maintenance, breakdown cover, and Complete Employer Protection.
What is The Charge Scheme? The Charge Scheme is an add-on to The Electric Car Scheme that allows employees to salary sacrifice the cost of their EV charging — at home, at work, or in public. Employees save 20–50% on all charging costs through a single app and card. It is an industry-first product not available through any other UK salary sacrifice provider.
Does salary sacrifice affect my mortgage application? Salary sacrifice reduces your gross income, which some lenders may factor into mortgage calculations. Read our dedicated guide on salary sacrifice and mortgage applications for more detail.
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Last updated: 10/03/2026
Our lease pricing is based on data collected from The Electric Car Scheme quote tool. All final pricing is inclusive of VAT. All prices above are based on the following lease terms; 10,000 miles pa, 36 months, and are inclusive of Maintenance and Breakdown Cover. The Electric Car Scheme’s terms and conditions apply. All deals are subject to credit approval and availability. All deals are subject to excess mileage and damage charges. Prices are calculated based on the following tax saving assumptions; England & Wales, 40% tax rate. The above prices were calculated using a flat payment profile. The Electric Car Scheme Limited provides services for the administration of your salary sacrifice employee benefits. The Electric Car Scheme Holdings Limited is a member of the BVRLA (10608), is authorised and regulated by the FCA under FRN 968270, is an Appointed Representative of Marshall Management Services Ltd under FRN 667174, and is a credit broker and not a lender or insurance provider.
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