Interview between Fully Charged presenter and Tom Groat from the Electric Car Scheme

Here at Fully Charged, we're very lucky to have a fantastic audience who for many years have helped us fly the flag for going electric. Chatting to visitors at our live event earlier this year, it was amazingly encouraging to hear that many viewers were planning on getting an electric vehicle in the next one, two, or three years.

But what if we could speed this up and get you driving a brand new electric vehicle right now? Today I'm joined by Tom Groat from the Electric Car Scheme, who have a solution that has the potential of getting more people in EVs sooner rather than later by using salary sacrifice.

Why did you start the Electric Car Scheme?

We started the Electric Car Scheme mainly because we're really passionate about getting people into electric cars and found this fantastic government benefit that allows you to do it through salary sacrifice at much lower cost.

When we tried to access that benefit, it was incredibly hard for us. We contacted lease companies and asked about this tax benefit. The first question we got was, "Have you got over a thousand employees?" When we said no, we were a small business, they wouldn't talk to us.

When we then fibbed about how many employees we had, we got served a price list that was 30% more expensive than the best lease deal on the market. When we asked why, the lease company said, "Well, that's just our price list."

Then when you read the fine print in the T's and C's, if an employee were to leave - if they fell ill, went on maternity leave, or resigned - you're left as the company stuck with the car and potentially footing a heavy bill.

So we set up the Electric Car Scheme to solve those three issues: make it really easy for any business of any size to access the government benefit, access the best leases in the market, and take away the risk from offering this as a benefit to your employees.

How does salary sacrifice work with electric vehicles?

When you get paid your salary and receive your monthly paycheck, you'll see your gross salary, then income tax and National Insurance taken out of that gross salary. What remains goes to your bank account as your net pay.

With salary sacrifice, you pay for the car not out of your net pay after taxes are taken out, but out of your gross pay, which lowers your tax bill, lowers your National Insurance bill, and means you're left with more money in your bank account at the end of the month.

Instead, you pay a very small benefit-in-kind tax because you're getting the car as a benefit from your employer. But that's much less than the tax you would have paid otherwise.

Examples of savings:

• Tesla Model Y: Normally £654/month. Through our scheme, you'd save £283/month on income tax and National Insurance, pay £51/month benefit-in-kind tax. Net cost: only £422/month.

• VW ID.3: Normally £245/month. Save £106/month in tax and National Insurance, pay £2/month benefit-in-kind tax. Net cost: only £161/month.

• Kia EV6: Normally £408/month. Save £176/month on income tax and National Insurance, pay £33/month benefit-in-kind tax. Net cost: only £265/month.

What makes the Electric Car Scheme different?

The biggest thing is that we're independent from any leasing company. This allows us to do two things really well:

1. We can work with any leasing company and provider in the market. With the current car shortage, we can access pockets of cars all around the UK and have better availability.

2. Every lease company has different prices for every car. We can go to the leasing company that has the best price for that specific car, which saves you on average an extra 10% or £3,000 across the life of the lease.

Our employer support is second to none. We offer the best risk protection to employers and expert advice on things like tax and HMRC guidance, making it much easier for small to medium businesses to say yes to offering the scheme to their employees.

Who is eligible?

Any employee and business in the UK that wants this as an employee benefit. We work with companies from as few as two employees all the way beyond a thousand. There's no cost for the employer to set up the scheme.

There are typically two restrictions employers might set:

1. Only offering it to people after they pass their probationary period

2. Ensuring someone can't drop below minimum wage

What about charging?

We try to make it as easy and simple as possible. When you order the car and lock in your tax benefits, you also have the option to include a charge point and home installation, car insurance, and servicing and maintenance - effectively bundling it all together.

We also find that when employers have several employees with electric cars, they'll install charging units at the office to make it easy for those who haven't got off-street parking.

Next steps

The easiest place to go is our website, electriccarscheme.com, where you can calculate your savings based on the car you want and your tax rate, and set up a call with our team to discuss how to set up the scheme for your office.

Our mission is to make it as affordable and simple as possible, and the journey starts at electriccarscheme.com.