Perx vs Octopus Electric Vehicles
Octopus Electric Vehicles is the closest thing the UK market has to an energy-aware car scheme: the salary-sacrifice package includes the car, insurance, servicing, tyres and breakdown, plus a £400 credit the employee can put toward a home charger or charging costs. Perx covers the same car and charger ground and adds solar panels and battery storage on the same payroll deduction. The difference is generation, not charging.
Last verified: 18 August 2026. Information about Octopus Electric Vehicles comes from octopusev.com, read on that date. Tax rates are for the 2026/27 UK tax year.
At a glance
| Octopus Electric Vehicles | 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 |
| Breakdown cover | Yes | Yes |
| Home EV charger | £400 credit, one of three options | Yes |
| Charging costs | £400 credit toward home or public charging, in place of the charger credit | No |
| EV electricity tariff | Yes, Intelligent Octopus Go | Not offered |
| Solar panels | No | Yes |
| Home battery storage | No | Yes |
| Mid-contract leaver terms | Business protection referenced, terms not published | Three named options, employee's choice |
| Company car Benefit-in-Kind | 4% in 2026/27 | 4% in 2026/27 |
Cheaper units, or fewer units
Octopus comes at the energy question from the supply side, and does it well. The employee picks one of three £400 credits: a discount on a home charger, credit toward home charging, or public charging credit through Electroverse. On top of that sits Intelligent Octopus Go, an EV tariff with cheaper off-peak home charging. For an employee who wants a car and cheaper electricity to run it, that is a coherent package from a company that is, after all, an energy supplier.
Perx approaches the same problem from the generation side. Solar panels and battery storage reduce the number of units the household buys from the grid at all, and the equipment remains with the house after the car goes back. Those are genuinely different mechanisms rather than competing versions of the same one. A tariff lowers the price per unit for as long as the employee stays on the scheme and with that supplier. Generation lowers consumption permanently.
It is also worth being straight about the £400 credit: it is one credit, not three. An employee taking the home charger discount is not also taking the charging credit. Perx includes the charger as part of the offering rather than as an alternative to a charging subsidy.
Where Octopus is the better answer
A workforce that rents. This is the strongest case for Octopus over Perx. Charging credit and a cheaper tariff need no roof, no landlord permission and no installation on a property the employee does not own. Where most of the workforce rents, Octopus delivers most of its value and Perx delivers a fraction of its own.
Employees who drive a lot on public charging. The Electroverse public charging credit is directly useful to someone without reliable home charging, and home generation does nothing for them.
Existing Octopus energy customers. Where the household is already on an Octopus tariff, the tariff and vehicle sit with one supplier, and that simplicity has real value.
Where Perx is the better answer
Home generation. Perx is the only UK salary-sacrifice scheme we are aware of that includes the electric car alongside charger, solar and battery. Octopus does not offer solar or battery storage through salary sacrifice.
An asset that outlasts the lease. The panels and battery stay with the household when the car goes back. A charging credit ends with the scheme.
Supplier independence. Perx does not tie the household to a particular electricity supplier, so the employee keeps the ability to switch tariff without unwinding a benefit.
A published answer on early exit. Set out below.
Early termination, side by side
Perx. Three standard options, agreed upfront with the employee at sign-up: transfer the sacrifice agreement to their new employer if the new employer operates a compatible scheme; settle the residual balance personally and keep the equipment (or, for batteries and EV chargers, take them to a new address); or return the equipment for a pro-rata settlement. The choice is the employee's. Employer exposure is limited to the months of sacrifice already taken, with no balloon liability sitting with the employer.
Octopus Electric Vehicles. Their scheme page references protection for the business covering circumstances from resignation to sick leave, but does not publish the terms, the cost basis or what happens to the employee's arrangement. As at 18 August 2026 an employer cannot compare this criterion from public information alone and should ask directly.
A note on the tax treatment
The car and the charger sit on well-trodden salary-sacrifice ground. Solar panels and battery storage do not have the same body of specific HMRC guidance behind them, and arriving on one payroll deduction does not make the treatment of all four elements identical. Any employer launching a bundled scheme should take advice on the specific structure before going live.
Who provides what
Perx is developed by Covase, which has managed UK fleets since 2003. Vehicle funding runs through Lex Autolease and Ogilvie Fleet, motor insurance is embedded via Beloy, and the home-energy elements are delivered in partnership with Heva Energy, who pioneered the UK salary-sacrifice route to home solar, batteries and charging and who also run their own scheme for those elements without a vehicle. Orbis IO supplies the connected-vehicle-data platform that manages each car in life. Covase reconciles the invoicing across those relationships.
Frequently asked questions
Does Octopus Electric Vehicles offer solar panels or home battery storage through salary sacrifice?
No. Their salary-sacrifice package covers the car, insurance, servicing, tyres and breakdown, plus a £400 credit toward a home charger or charging costs, read on 18 August 2026. Solar panels and home battery storage are not offered through the scheme. Perx covers the electric car alongside the home charger, solar panels and battery storage on the same payroll deduction.
What is the £400 credit on the Octopus scheme?
Employees choose one of three £400 credits: a home charger discount, home charging credit, or public charging credit through Electroverse. It is one credit rather than three, so an employee taking the charger discount is not also taking the charging credit. Perx includes the charger as part of the offering rather than as an alternative to a charging subsidy.
What is the difference between a cheaper electricity tariff and home generation?
A tariff lowers the price per unit for as long as the employee stays on the scheme and with that supplier. Home generation lowers the number of units the household buys from the grid at all, and the equipment stays with the house after the car goes back. They are different mechanisms rather than competing versions of the same one.
What happens if an employee leaves mid-contract on each scheme?
Perx publishes three standard options agreed upfront at sign-up: transfer the sacrifice agreement to a new employer operating a compatible scheme, settle the residual balance personally and keep the equipment, or return the equipment for a pro-rata settlement. The choice is the employee's, and employer exposure is limited to the months of sacrifice already taken. Octopus Electric Vehicles references protection for the business covering circumstances from resignation to sick leave but does not publish the terms, so an employer should ask directly.
When is Octopus the better choice than Perx?
Where the workforce mostly rents, since charging credit and a cheaper tariff need no roof, no landlord permission and no installation on a property the employee does not own. Also for employees who rely on public charging, and for households already on an Octopus tariff who value having the tariff and vehicle with one supplier.
Does Perx tie the household to an electricity supplier?
No. Perx does not tie the household to a particular electricity supplier, so the employee keeps the ability to switch tariff without unwinding a benefit.
Is the tax treatment the same for solar and battery as for the car?
Not necessarily. The car and the charger sit on well-trodden salary-sacrifice ground. Solar panels and battery storage do not have the same body of specific HMRC guidance behind them, and arriving on one payroll deduction does not make the treatment of all four elements identical. Employers should take advice on the specific structure before launching.