How does The Electric Car Scheme compare to Octopus?
In short:
The best prices available for employee cars
Complete risk protection for employers
Find out more by reading on, or get started with the scheme, by speaking to one of our product specialists.
Download a comparison of The Electric Car Scheme and Octopus
What’s the difference between The Electric Car Scheme and Octopus?
There are a few product differences between the two electric car salary sacrifice schemes, which we’ll point out below.
At it’s core The Electric Car Scheme was built to make sustainable choices obvious and affordable for everyone.
We offer the best of what’s available on the electric car market to employees, with the aim of making it as affordable as possible to help them switch to an electric car. We also ensure The Electric Car Scheme is easy for employers to say ‘Yes’ to, by providing complete risk protection.
The main difference comes from the fact that Octopus Electric Vehicles is a car leasing company rather than an employee benefits company. They buy cars and lease them out at a margin - at their price list.
So if you care about getting your employees the best benefits available, know that we have built The Electric Car Scheme to do just that.
The best car prices available for employee cars
Low prices drive better employee take-up. We search across the EV market to find the best prices available for your team.
Access to the top leasing companies means we shop the market to find the best prices available. You can be confident your employees will achieve the best price available in addition to the full 30-60% tax savings on the cost of the car through salary sacrifice.
In contrast, Octopus Electric Vehicles is a leasing company. Octopus buys cars and lease them out a the price level they choose to set. Salary sacrifice schemes setup with Octopus Electric Vehicles, are provided exclusively with their cars, at their prices.
Access all electric cars, faster
The current market has 100s of different electric cars on offer - from budget to high-end. As The Electric Car Scheme is not tied to one supplier, leasing company or car dealer, we can access any electric car on the market.
At the time of writing this (October 2023), Octopus offered 60 models of electric car, compared to the 97 on the market that The Electric Car Scheme can access
In addition The Electric Car Scheme can arrange interim electric cars for your employees. So, even if you have to wait for your dream electric car to be ready, we'll provide you with an interim EV to start straight away.
Complete Risk Protection means employers don’t need to worry if an employees car has to be returned
| What is included | The Electric Car Scheme | Octopus Electric Vehicles |
|---|---|---|
| Resignation | Yes, Immediately | From 6m |
| Redundancy | Yes, Immediately | From 6m |
| Dismissal | Yes, Immediately | From 6m |
| Long term sickness | Yes, Immediately | From 6m |
| Damage | Where not recovered from emeployee | No |
Employers shouldn’t need to worry about taking on large financial risks in order to offer an electric car salary sacrifice scheme.
If a car needs to be returned early, the employer is typically liable for half the remaining payments on the lease, unless covered by the scheme’s protection service. Read more about what’s included in The Electric Car Scheme’s Complete Risk Protection service. The protection included with The Electric Car Scheme takes care of a number scenarios where Octopus Electric Vehicles would leave the employer on the hook.
Any car return within the first 6 months of delivery - this includes redundancy, dismissal, long term sickness etc.
Where the company has already returned 10 cars or 10% of the fleet that year - this can be a serious issue with big fleets, as the average employer would expect a churn around of around 15% of their team each year.
It’s always important to ask specifically what’s included with any service, and read the fine print to avoid an unexpected bill.
Trusted 5 star service
A key factor when considering an electric car salary sacrifice scheme is the level of support provided to the employer to remove the hassle.
All schemes should ensure the employer is setup in a compliant manner and that the rules of the scheme are clear to all employees, generally through online guides, webinars and an Employee Handbook.
In addition payroll instructions should be given at the end of each month to make it clear and easy for the employer to arrange the correct payroll.
In our view both The Electric Car Scheme and Octopus do this well and provide an excellent service to clients.
The Electric Car Scheme has a simple online portal for employers to setup the scheme and help employees quote for cars.
We make it easy to keep your HR, Finance and Tax affairs on track. Our automated monthly payroll, HMRC and climate reporting helps you with compliance and minimises hassle. In addition The Electric Car Scheme drafts the notifications an employer must send to HMRC, known as a P46 (Car) form, and prepares for P11D and P11D(b) reports at the end of the tax year, which can all be downloaded from the portal.
No cost to run for employers
Electric car salary sacrifice schemes should not cost the employer anything to setup or run.
The Electric Car Scheme ensures that the employer remains cost neutral every month. Any upside benefit for the employer is used to cover for the cost of market-leading risk protection, and to ensure the employees receive the very best deals on cars.
Octopus Electric Vehicles sometimes leaves the employer with some financial upside, approx 1-2% of the lease value, however these financial benefits would be negated if any of the early termination risks left exposed come to pass.
Also, as the employer is financially up, this ultimately means that the employee could have got a better deal on the car, and a stronger employee benefit.