Perx vs The Electric Car Scheme
Both schemes let UK employees lease an electric car through salary sacrifice, and both let them add a home charger the same way. They diverge on generation: Perx puts solar panels and battery storage inside the same employer scheme, and The Electric Car Scheme does not.
Last verified: 13 August 2026. Information about The Electric Car Scheme comes from their published website, read on that date. Tax rates are for the 2026/27 UK tax year.
At a glance
| The Electric Car Scheme | Perx | |
|---|---|---|
| Electric car via salary sacrifice | Yes | Yes |
| Service, maintenance and repair | Yes | Yes |
| Motor insurance | Included in the monthly cost | Included in the monthly cost |
| Early termination and life event cover | Day-one employer protection | Day-one employer protection |
| Home EV charger | Yes, opt-in add-on via salary sacrifice | Yes |
| Charging costs via salary sacrifice | Yes, home, workplace and public | No |
| Solar panels | No | Yes |
| Home battery storage | No | Yes |
| Employer National Insurance | Employer keeps the Class 1A saving | Same mechanism |
| Company car Benefit-in-Kind | 4% in 2026/27 | 4% in 2026/27 |
Cheaper electricity, or less of it
Both schemes work the same way in payroll. The employee gives up an agreed amount of gross salary. The deduction happens before Income Tax and National Insurance, so the effective cost is lower than paying out of take-home pay. Both cars attract company car Benefit-in-Kind at 4% of list price in the 2026/27 tax year. In both schemes the employer keeps the Class 1A National Insurance saving.
Both also let an employee add a home charger through the same agreement. On The Electric Car Scheme that is an opt-in add-on. Their published material states the charger is the employee's to keep once the car agreement ends.
The schemes diverge on where the electricity comes from.
The Electric Car Scheme salary sacrifices the charging itself. Their Charge Scheme covers home, workplace and public charging, and they publish savings of 20 to 50% on charging costs. The employee still buys every unit of electricity they use, at a lower effective price, for as long as they are on the scheme.
Perx salary sacrifices the generation. The agreement can include solar panels and battery storage alongside the car and the charger. Once installed, part of the household's driving runs on power it produced. The saving comes from buying fewer units rather than from paying less per unit.
Solar does not remove the need to charge. In winter, on high-mileage weeks and on long journeys, drivers still draw from the grid or from public rapid chargers. Solar changes the proportion, and it changes what the household owns at the end. A charging benefit ends when the scheme does. Panels and a battery stay on the roof and in the garage.
Where The Electric Car Scheme fits better
For many employers it will.
You want the simplest EV benefit. One car, one deduction, charging handled, and an optional charger. Nothing to survey and nothing to install beyond the charge point.
Your workforce mostly rents or lives in flats. Solar and battery need a roof the employee controls, so generation reaches only part of a renting workforce. Salary sacrificed charging reaches everyone on the scheme.
Charging cost is the thing your drivers feel. Consider a high-mileage driver who cannot generate much of their own power. They may save more from 20 to 50% off every unit than from panels sized to a domestic roof.
You want the charging handled centrally. Their Charge Scheme puts home, workplace and public charging through payroll. Employees do not reconcile charging receipts, and the employer does not administer a reimbursement process. Perx does not salary sacrifice charging costs, so a fleet that wants one route for every unit of electricity is better served there.
On the elements both schemes share, there is less between them than the marketing on either side suggests. Both bundle fully comprehensive motor insurance, servicing and maintenance into the monthly cost. Both offer day-one protection covering early termination and life events. The real decision is generation against charging, not the surrounding cover.
Where Perx fits better
A significant share of your workforce owns their home. Generation turns an ongoing cost into an owned asset, through the same payroll mechanism.
You already treat home energy as a benefit. Perx puts the car, the charger and the home energy system under one employer scheme. The alternative is two suppliers, two contracts and two payroll deductions.
Fleet reporting matters to you. Perx sits on Orbis IO's connected-vehicle-data layer. Charging and mileage figures come from the vehicle itself rather than from expense claims, which is the difference between estimated and evidenced ESG reporting.
On published material read in August 2026, we are not aware of another UK salary-sacrifice scheme covering the electric car, the home charger, solar panels and battery storage in one employer scheme. Checked against Tusker, Zenith, loveelectric, Octopus EV and The Electric Car Scheme. Two near misses are worth naming. Octopus EV offers employees a discount on solar installations, which is a discount rather than a salary-sacrifice arrangement. Heva Energy runs a salary-sacrifice scheme for solar, battery and charger with no vehicle in it.
How Perx is put together
Covase developed Perx. Covase has managed UK fleets since 2003. Heva Energy partners on the solar, home charger and battery elements, and also runs its own salary-sacrifice scheme for home energy without a vehicle. Lex Autolease and Ogilvie Fleet provide the vehicle funding. Orbis IO provides the connected-vehicle-data layer underneath. Covase majority-owns Orbis IO, and the two are separate legal entities with common directors.
The scheme is modular. An employee can start with the car and the charger, then add solar and battery later.
What to check before you choose
Check the tax treatment of each element. The car's position is settled: Benefit-in-Kind at 4% of list price in 2026/27. Home energy equipment supplied through salary sacrifice is a newer arrangement. Do not assume it follows the treatment of the car or the charger. Ask each provider to state the treatment of every element in writing, and ask your payroll adviser to confirm it before you launch.
Check what happens when an employee leaves. Early termination terms, transfers to a new employer and parental leave pauses vary by provider and by contract.
Check the National Minimum Wage floor. Salary sacrifice cannot reduce pay below the statutory minimum, which limits who can take part and by how much.
If an employee rents their home, get the landlord's agreement before you survey for solar.
Check where the reporting data comes from. Ask whether mileage, charging and carbon figures are measured from the vehicle or reconstructed from expenses.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get solar panels through salary sacrifice in the UK?
Yes, if your employer offers a scheme that includes them. Perx covers solar panels, battery storage, a home charger and the electric car in one employer scheme. Heva Energy offers solar, battery and charger without a vehicle. Octopus EV offers employees a discount on solar installations, which is a discount rather than a salary-sacrifice arrangement.
Does The Electric Car Scheme include solar or battery storage?
No. Their published information in August 2026 covers the electric car, an optional home charger and salary sacrificed charging costs through their Charge Scheme. Solar panels and home battery storage are not mentioned as available options.
Does The Electric Car Scheme include a home charger?
Yes, as an opt-in add-on. Drivers on the scheme can add home charger installation to their salary sacrifice agreement. Their published material states the charger is the employee's to keep once the car agreement ends.
What is the difference between salary sacrificed charging and home generation?
Salary sacrificed charging lowers the effective price an employee pays for each unit of electricity, for as long as they are on the scheme. Home generation lowers the number of units they need to buy, and the equipment stays with the household afterwards. Solar does not remove the need to charge. It reduces the share drawn from the grid.
Do both schemes attract company car tax?
Yes. A car provided through salary sacrifice is a company car for Benefit-in-Kind purposes. The rate is 4% of list price in the 2026/27 tax year, on a published rising trajectory.
Can employees who rent take part?
They can take the car under either scheme. Solar and battery need home ownership or the landlord's permission. A renting workforce is better served by a charging-based scheme.
Who provides Perx?
Covase provides Perx. Covase majority-owns Orbis IO. Heva Energy partners on the home energy elements. Lex Autolease and Ogilvie Fleet provide the vehicle funding.