Fleet Evolution says ‘there has never been a better time’ to consider switching staff into an electric car provided under a salary sacrifice scheme.

The company said there is a misconception that salary sacrifice schemes are for employees who are paying tax at 40%, but the scheme benefits individuals paying tax at 20%, as you cannot allow a salary sacrifice to take net pay below the minimum living wage.

Using figures from the Government car cost calculator, the company said for a five-year-old Vauxhall Astra 1.4T 16v 150bp SRi 5dr, the total annual running cost over a typical 10,000 miles is £8,070 a year or around £675 a month, including depreciation, fuel, SMR and insurance.

Andrew Leech, managing director at Fleet Evolution, said: “However, by having a comparable electric car under a company-provided salary sacrifice scheme, such as a VW ID3 Life Pro, a typical 20% taxpayer would incur a lease rental cost of £322 per month to travel the same 10,000 miles, with recharging at home typically costing around £50 a month – that’s around half of what they’d pay in running their own car.

“For staff in lower pay brackets, this saves a significant proportion of their monthly take-home salary at a time when living costs are coming under unprecedented pressure.

"At the same time, they will also be making a major contribution to reducing their company’s carbon footprint.

“For employers, from an ethical viewpoint, going down an EV salary sacrifice route shows them in a positive light in trying to help their employees manage their living costs at a time of price rises across the board and in just about every area of society.”

The average car now costs more than £100 to fill, despite the Government announcing a £5bn package to reduce costs, in March.

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