FAQs
From salary sacrifice to charging, this is the place to get your EV questions answered.
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General questions
If you have an EV through salary sacrifice and you need help please call our Driver Line on 020 3322 2601.
EV stands for electric vehicle.
EVs are powered by an electric battery which means that they produce no CO2 emissions at all. Unlike internal combustion engine (ICE) cars which put carbon into the atmosphere and contribute to air pollution and global warming.
EVs have no engine and no gears, which makes them very powerful and fast. EV drivers charge their cars in the same way that you would do with a mobile phone, top it up when the battery is low at home or using one of the public chargers across the UK.
Check out this guide which will help you if you're wondering whether you should buy an electric car over a fuel or hybrid car.
Just like an automatic fuel car, except the car has no gears. Because it has no gears it drives incredibly smoothly. The only thing you might need to get used to is Re-Gen braking. This is as simple as releasing the throttle.
When you lease a car you agree to pay a monthly fee over a set term for use of the vehicle.
When you take out a lease as an individual this is known as personal contract hire (PCH).
Businesses can lease a whole fleet of vehicles in this way. This is known as business contract hire (BCH). Check out this guide that explains how the cost of leasing through a PCH compares with the cost of leasing through salary sacrifice.
No, we'll get your car delivered free of charge to any UK mainland address, either home or business (except for Teslas which usually need to be collected).
kWh means kilowatt hour. In an electric car, it's a unit of stored energy.
You'll see that car batteries are labelled with kWh. This lets you know how large the car battery is and how many kWh it can store.
Chargers are labelled with kW. This lets you know how fast a charger will top up your car.
In simple terms, the smaller your car battery is in kW and the higher the charger wattage, the quicker the charge. Check out our charging pages for more information on charging speeds and the home chargers we offer.
A tethered charger has its own cables hardwired in. Untethered chargers don't. They need a cable to be connected each time you charge.
Most cars come with a cable, or you'll need to buy one to charge on the public charge point network.
Our EV specialists will help you decide which is best for you based on your needs.
It's no secret that there are supply chain challenges across the world at the moment for new cars, including EVs. But we’ve pre-ordered the most popular cars, either by reserving factory build slots with manufacturers, or buying cars that have already been made, so we can get you in one sooner. Your delivery timescale will differ depending on which make and model you go for, and how customised you want the car to be.
We've partnered up with Motorway who'll help sell your car from the comfort of your home for a great price. Just put your car registration details into our easy to use tool and you'll get an instant valuation for your old car.
Once you know the delivery date of your shiny new EV you can use our Motorway tool to get a valuation and arrange the sale of your car at a time that's convenient for you. We suggest waiting until a week or two before your new car delivery date (we wouldn't want you to be without a car).
When you receive your brand new EV, it’s important to know what to expect.
All deliveries will come with a basic explanation of how to use your car, an Octopus Electric Vehicles Driver Pack and a charger. It’s up to the dealership how your car is delivered but it could be driven or come on a transporter.
About 40% of deliveries are driven because they’re faster, more efficient and better for tricky roads. Because of this, your car may have some miles on it and a bit of dirt.
If you’ve got any questions about the condition of your EV when it’s delivered, feel free to get in touch with someone in our team.
Salary Sacrifice FAQs
Salary sacrifice is an employee benefits scheme that allows you to pay for a car out of your gross monthly pay. Because this payment comes out of your pay before any tax, it reduces your salary and in turn lowers your income tax and national insurance payments too.
Money that you'd normally never see (because it goes straight out of your pay to HRMC) goes directly towards paying for your car. This makes it a very cost-effective way to lease an electric vehicle and allows you to save up to 40% on the cost of an electric car.
Check out this guide that explains why companies choose our salary sacrifice scheme.
Yes. You'll pay company car tax, also known as Benefit-in-Kind, on an EV through salary sacrifice. The good news is it's set at just 2%. The Benefit in Kind (BiK) rates are set by the government. It’s worth noting that they're currently fixed at 2% until April 2025, and after this, they'll increase by 1% each year until 2028.
Your net payments may vary based on a few things, for example, if you change tax brackets, or if the government changes the Benefit-in-Kind rates.
Employees pay Benefit in Kind tax on benefits they get from their employer on top of their salary. HMRC treats the benefit separately from your salary, which means you pay the tax before it arrives into your bank account. Any driver who uses a company car for personal use pays BiK tax out of their monthly wage.
Check out this guide on BiK rates for electric cars.
Your employer needs to join the scheme before you can get an EV with salary sacrifice. Once your business has joined the scheme, your employer decides who can get an EV through it.
As a minimum, you need to have completed your probation period, be on a permanent contract and paid via PAYE, and hold a valid UK driving licence. You must also be able to afford the vehicle without going below minimum wage and not be planning on retiring during the length of the contract.
See the additional insurance eligibility criteria here.
We offer everything you need to hit the road.
Our package includes:
- Your brand new EV
- A free Ohme ePod (untethered) home charger, installed by an expert engineer 4,000 miles of free charge (at home or on the public network)
- Maintenance
- Servicing
- Replacement tyres
- Breakdown cover
- Insurance (some employers choose not to include this)
Check out this guide that explains exactly what's included in salary sacrifice and how much it costs.
It's up to you! You choose the length of your agreement, between two and four years.
Yes. You're in control of your yearly mileage allowance. The minimum is 5,000 and maximum is 30,000 miles.
With salary sacrifice you get a full maintenance scheme which includes servicing, batteries and tyres under normal wear and tear conditions.
If you need help just need to phone our Driver Line on 0203 3222 601 to book in. When the car's delivered we'll also give you a pack with all the information you need on servicing and maintenance.
If you get into difficulty and your car is taken to a garage for repairs, the garage may provide you with a courtesy car, dependent on availability.
The car you'll be provided might not meet the same standards as your own salary sacrifice vehicle. Over the short time your car is being repaired, the garage may provide you with a petrol, diesel or a lower specification car. If our partners do source you with a petrol/diesel car, the fuel costs associated aren't covered by the scheme.
Our preference amongst our networks is for you to be provided with an electric car, but this is determined by availability. Our advice is to take the car that's on offer as courtesy cars are in short supply at the moment.
We'll do all we can on our end to make this part of your EV journey as smooth as possible.
If you need to return your car before the end of your salary sacrifice agreement, you may need to pay an early termination fee, depending on what early termination protection your employer has. Check your Driver Handbook for your employer's specific early termination protection, including how long you must have had the car for and what reasons for return are covered.
Circumstances can change and that's why early termination protection is built in. It's at the discretion of your employer, you may not be asked to pay a charge.
If you go on parental leave while you have an EV on salary sacrifice you can keep the car and continue to pay for it for as long as you can afford to. If your salary drops below minimum wage and/or statutory pay, you'll be covered for up to 12 months from the start of your leave.
If you don't need the car anymore you can return it and your employer’s early termination leaver protection will be used, usually resulting in no fee.
If you go on long term sickness leave you can keep the car and continue to pay for it for as long as you can afford to. If your salary drops to a level below minimum wage and/or statutory pay, you'll be covered for up to 3 months from the start of your leave (defined as being off on sick leave for 4 weeks or more).
If you don't need the car anymore, you can return it and your employer’s early termination leaver protection will be used, usually resulting in no fee.
The car can be returned, and your employer’s early termination protection will be used, usually resulting in no fee.
The employer would let us know (providing some documented proof) and would keep paying the monthly rentals but stop deducting the sacrifice from the employee’s pay.
When the employee returns, the employer just needs to notify us and we'll credit them back for the number of months due under the cover.
We understand that wear and tear is part of everyday life.
Sometimes vehicles are returned to us with excessive scuffs, scratches or damage. When you hand your vehicle back over to us at the end of your lease, we'll inspect it to make sure you’re returning it to us in good condition.
Our inspections are carried out in line with the BVRLA (British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association) guidelines on wear and tear.
Yes. We'll check it when you order your car and every year once you have the car.
There are no set up fees for salary sacrifice and no upfront payments. There may be charges in circumstances of excess mileage, certain early termination circumstances, end of contract damages or fines.
You return the car, and we'll check for any damage or excess mileage charges. Damages above our end of contract damage waiver, and excess mileage charges, will be invoiced to the employer and are usually then deducted from the employee’s net salary.
If you're interested in buying the car at the end of the term, we'll give you a price based on the market at the time. We retain the right to sell the car through another channel should we choose to, so can't guarantee that you'll always be able to buy the car from us when the agreement has come to an end.
In short, no.
But Octopus Energy customers do get loads of great freebies. For example, when you lease a car with us and switch to the Intelligent Octopus Go EV tariff you'll get 4,000 miles of free home charging. Plus, as an Octopus EV customer, you also get the added benefit of Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver - saving you an extra 1p on cheaper overnight/off-peak rates.
You'll get a free Ohme ePod (untethered) charger with standard installation no matter who your energy provider is through our salary sacrifice scheme, or ultimate EV package.
If you're going to do most of your charging on the road and opt for the 4,000 free miles of charging with Electroverse, you'll get this no matter who your energy provider is.
Find out more about our charging offers here.
Yes. We cover the cost of an Ohme ePod (untethered) charger plus a standard installation at your home.
See the full terms and conditions here.
To get the 4,000 free miles you'll need to switch to Intelligent Octopus Go, the energy tariff for EV drivers. It's especially designed for EV charging and keeping costs low. Find out more here.
Don't forget, if you're changing to Intelligent Octopus Go, as our driver you get access to our EV Saver rate - saving you an extra 1p on off-peak/overnight rates. Head to your Octopus EV MyAccount to sign up.
Can I still get a car from Octopus Electric Vehicles if I live in Northern Ireland?
Yes you can, but there are a few things you should know.
How do EV car deliveries work if I am based in Northern Ireland?
We can deliver most factory orders, speedy delivery vehicles, and nearly new EVs to Northern Ireland through our partner network with few exceptions. Please speak to one of our EV experts before placing your order to double check your specific car can be delivered to Northern Ireland.
Is the charging offer for home EV chargers still valid in Northern Ireland?
Yes, you can get the home charger package if you live in Northern Ireland. But you won't be eligible for free miles of home charging as Octopus Energy doesn't currently operate in Northern Ireland.
Are there a network of garages for electric vehicles in Northern Ireland?
Yes, you can get your EV serviced by garages in Northern Ireland.
Can I return an electric vehicle in Northern Ireland?
Sorry, we can only take returns in mainland UK.
Business Contract Hire FAQs
You pick your EV, choose your mileage and length of the contract, choose your payment plan and get a background check from us - and you should be ready to roll!
No, unlike other BCH providers we don't charge extra for this.
No, you'll need to pay for an EV charger separately. But you can get your charger installed by expert Octopus engineers, check out our chargers here.
Our BCH contract comes with an optional maintenance package that you can add to the lease at an additional cost.
It depends on your circumstances, but if you have a small workforce or don't pay your team a salary, as a business, you can make bigger tax savings by choosing BCH. Including 100% of VAT for maintenance costs and 50% of VAT for your electric vehicle lease.
It depends, usually, yes! We can take over all Tesla and some Polestar orders (give the team a ring to find if this is covered), and can usually take over orders from other dealers, but these are on a case-by-case basis.
Book a call with one of our BCH experts who can run through your options in detail.
It works exactly the same as if you were running a business with employees. Office or garden shed, BCH is for all sizes of businesses. The business essentially pays for the car, not the individual.
You'll pay 2% BiK rate (or company car tax) on any EV Business Contract Hire agreement, no matter how you get paid. BiK is set at 2% until April 2025. From then, it'll raise by 1% each year until 2028. With BCH you'll pay this on the portion of the company's tax rather than your salary, as you would with a salary sacrifice scheme.
No hard credit check will be done on you, the customer, but a soft credit check will be done on the directors of the company. A hard credit check is done on the company or business as this is a business contract hire and is based on info held by credit safe (a credit referencing agency).
The finance provider remains the owner of the vehicle during the lease. Your business leases it but isn't the legal owner.
Yes, to an extent. Assuming you're VAT registered, you can claim 50% off VAT on the contract hire, 100% off VAT on maintenance and 100% off VAT on commercial vehicles.
Yes, but you can claim a lot of it back! 50% off VAT on the contract hire, 100% off VAT on maintenance and 100% off VAT on commercial vehicles.
As long as you're either a sole-trader, pay yourself through dividends, are a limited company, or a partnership you can get a BCH agreement.
Learn more about how to lease an electric vehicle through your business in our handy guide.
We’ll take the car off your hands and you’re free to choose a new car lease contract. The only obligation you'd have is to pay any excess mileage or damage fees.
If you're on brokered BCH deal, you can speak directly to the funder when your contract ends.
It depends. Not all electric vehicles are available for customisation and might be available ‘as is’ with standard options. Some have all types of fun gadgets and requirements to choose from, but be aware these will reflect in your monthly rental fee and add time to your delivery date. All options must be added before the BCH agreement is final.
We offer a selection of mileage options in our BCH contracts that start as low as 5,000 miles a year. This will stay fixed for the duration of the contract to keep your monthly fee as low as possible.
If you go over your agreed mileage and you'll have to pay extra fees.
It depends. The cost of the car, the length of the contract, the annual mileage all play a part in determining the upfront cost of your contract.
No, you don’t have to take your EV for a MOT until it's 3 years old. If your contract goes on longer than 3 years, our BCH contract comes with an optional maintenance package that can be added to the lease at an additional cost to cover this.
Check with your insurance company and the body shop repairing your car to supply you with a replacement vehicle. We don’t provide any spare ones for these situations, unfortunately.
Yes, they are all brand new.
Just before we deliver it. We'll get in touch to arrange a suitable time and date and confirm all the details for your brand new EV, including your vehicle registration and all the details you need to sign up for business insurance for the vehicle.
We work hard to keep our website updated with all the latest EVs, but if nothing tickles your fancy please give us a call and we will try to find you something that's a better fit.
At the time of writing this, there are over 1.6 million leased vehicles in the UK, a huge increase over the last couple of years. More and more customers are recognising leasing as a convenient service with everything included, and car ownership is a possession that loses value over time.
We need you to keep an eye on your estimated annual mileage and the general health of the car to avoid excess fees. You also need to insure your vehicle. Our BCH contract comes with an optional maintenance package that can be added to the lease at an additional cost to cover servicing and maintenance, which we recommend to avoid surprise costs.
No. The funder will only charge you extra fees at the end of your BCH contract if you have exceeded anything in your contract like the agreed annual mileage or the car has been damaged beyond the previously agreed to wear and tear. The best way to avoid these fees is to read up on them before your contract starts so you are fully aware of what the limits are.
Our maximum total contract mileage allowance is 120,000 miles.
Personal Contract Hire FAQs
We're offering a selection of the best electric cars with the latest technology, offering great value for money. Unfortunately if you want a car that's not on this list, we can't offer it right now.
With Intelligent EV, you’re paying monthly to drive the car, without having to worry about owning it. This means you pay a fixed monthly price in return for a brand new EV. You can get a fixed term and at the end, you simply hand the car back to us.
The upfront payment is equivalent to 3 times the monthly price of your lease. It isn't a deposit and instead replaces your first monthly payment. We'll take your monthly payments from month two (as payments are made a month in advance) until the lease ends. The monthly payment amounts are calculated after your upfront payment is taken off, and so by paying the upfront payment, your monthly payments are lower.
With Intelligent EV you’ll give the car back at the end of the lease as it’s a hire plan, agreed for a certain period of time. Remember though, cars are assets that lose value, so this way you get to return the car, hassle free, at the end of your term.
Octopus Energy is offering our drivers access to an EV specific energy tariff - Intelligent Octopus Go - that allows you to charge your car with the greenest, cheapest energy. As an Octopus Electric Vehicles customer, you'll also get access to their exclusive "Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver" tariff, the UK's lowest EV tariff, and charge your car for 6p/kWh. In order to get onto this tariff, you’ll need to be an Octopus Energy customer, and have either a car or a charger that is compatible with the Intelligent Octopus Go tariff.
Some cars are compatible with Intelligent Octopus Go, no matter what charger you have. For others, you’ll need to install a charger at home that is compatible - check if your car is compatible with Intelligent Octopus Go here. We can help you pick and install your home EV charger with Octopus Energy Services. Find out more about charger installations here.
As part of taking an EV with us, you’ll get an Electroverse card which (once you download the app) gives you one-tap access to hundreds of thousands of public chargers across the UK and Europe. Plus, you can plan charging routes to any destination and tailor the experience to your EV.
As a bonus, Intelligent EV customers receive a 10% discount off all public charging made through the Electroverse network. See full T&Cs here.
Based on customer feedback, in Intelligent EV we've only included what we think is valuable for a smart EV driver. You’re covered for service, maintenance and repairs. This includes all servicing recommended by the car's manufacturer, any necessary MOTs, and any maintenance and repairs caused by typical wear and ageing.
There are a couple of extra things you might need that you can source competitively yourself:
1. You'll need to buy your own comprehensive motor insurance and keep that in place for the length of your lease term.
2. You'll need to cover the cost of any tyres that need replacing, and make sure you replace them with like-for-like tyres.
3. Breakdown cover is also not included in our package. (Although some car manufacturers cover breakdown as part of their warranty. You can check the manufacturer’s websites to confirm.)
4. You’ll also be liable for any fines that you may receive once you have the car, plus any excess mileage and damage above fair wear and tear when you return the car at the end.
Charging FAQs
Nope! Anyone can apply for a charger installation. But, if you are an Octopus Energy customer you can get access to amazing EV tariffs and super low rates on energy overnight.
Here’s what a standard installation with expert Octopus installers includes. If installing your electric vehicle charger is more complicated than our standard installation, it may cost extra to get you set up. Of course, we'll give you a quote for any extra work before we go ahead.
- Fitting the charger
- We'll fit the charger into a brick or plaster wall. Unfortunately, we can't mount to things like fences, and fitting a pole will cost extra.
- Routing the cable
- Our standard install includes up to 10 metres of cable, run and clipped to the wall or along a window/door frame, between your consumer unit and charger.
- Electrical connections
- We'll connect the charger to the origin of the supply, and fit any necessary electrical components.
- Testing & demonstration
- We'll do all necessary electrical testing and give you NICEIC certification, as well as show you how the charger and app work.
The price of the charger includes a standard installation.
If installing your electric vehicle home charger is more complicated than our standard installation, it may cost extra to get you set up. Of course we'll give you a quote for any extra work before we go ahead.
You can read more about charger installation on our FAQs page.
Yes, you can. Would we recommend it? Not really. With such a low charge it can take you a long time to charge your electric vehicle.
A tethered charger has its own cables hardwired in. Untethered chargers don't. They need a cable to be connected each time you charge.
Most cars come with a cable, or you'll need to buy one to charge on the public charge point network.
Our EV specialists will help you decide which is best for you based on your needs.
To take advantage of our amazing EV tariff with cheap overnight charging you need to:
- Switch over to Octopus Energy. You can read more about switching here.
- Have a SMETS2 smart meter.
- Have a compatible charger and car.
You can head over to Octopus Energy EV tariff eligibility calculator to check if you're eligible for Intelligent Octopus.
Once you're on Intelligent Octopus Go to switch over to the EV Saver tariff, just head over to your Octopus EV My Account and fill out the form to get yourself switched.