Perx vs Zenith
Zenith runs a broad all-inclusive salary-sacrifice car scheme covering maintenance, servicing, road tax, insurance, breakdown, tyres, glass and accident management, across new and quality-assured used vehicles. Perx covers the car and adds the home charger, solar panels and battery storage on the same payroll deduction. Zenith does not offer home energy.
Last verified: 18 August 2026. Information about Zenith comes from zenith.co.uk, read on that date. Tax rates are for the 2026/27 UK tax year.
At a glance
| Zenith | Perx | |
|---|---|---|
| Electric car via salary sacrifice | Yes | Yes |
| Used vehicles on the scheme | Yes, quality-assured used | Yes |
| Service, maintenance and repair | Yes | Yes |
| Motor insurance | Included in the monthly cost | Included in the monthly cost |
| Road tax | Yes | Yes |
| Breakdown and recovery | Yes | Yes |
| Tyres, glass and accident management | Yes | Yes |
| Home EV charger | Not offered on the published scheme pages | Yes |
| Solar panels | No | Yes |
| Home battery storage | No | Yes |
| End-of-contract collection fee | Yes, minimum £140 | No separate collection fee published |
| Mid-contract leaver terms | Deferred to employer scheme policy | Three named options, employee's choice |
| Company car Benefit-in-Kind | 4% in 2026/27 | 4% in 2026/27 |
Two different kinds of all-inclusive
Zenith's proposition is depth on the vehicle. Glass and accident management are not universal inclusions on salary-sacrifice schemes, and quality-assured used stock is a genuine lever on affordability: a used EV at a lower list price reduces both the monthly sacrifice and the Benefit-in-Kind charge, which brings the scheme within reach of employees a new-car-only scheme prices out. For an employer whose priority is getting the widest range of salaries onto the scheme, that matters.
Perx is all-inclusive along a different axis. The vehicle cover is comparable, and then the scheme continues past the car into the house: charger, solar panels and battery storage on the same payroll deduction. Perx also offers used EVs, so the affordability lever is not exclusive to Zenith.
The honest summary is that these two schemes are answering different questions. Zenith asks how much of the vehicle risk it can absorb. Perx asks how much of the household's energy cost it can move onto a gross-pay deduction.
Where Zenith is the better answer
Breadth of vehicle cover. Glass and accident management inside the monthly figure are worth having, and an employer comparing cover line by line may find Zenith's vehicle package harder to beat.
A workforce that rents. Solar and battery need a roof the employee controls. Where the workforce mostly rents, most of the Perx advantage does not apply.
Scale. Zenith is a large, established fleet and leasing business with the employer-side administration to match.
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. Zenith's published scheme does not cover home energy.
Clarity on leaving mid-contract. Zenith publishes an end-of-contract collection fee with a minimum of £140 and otherwise directs employees to check their employer's scheme policy. Perx publishes three named options. For a criterion this decisive, a published answer is worth more than a deferral.
Connected vehicle data underneath. Cars on the Perx scheme report real mileage, charging behaviour and battery state directly from the manufacturer through Orbis IO's platform, which is useful to an employer carrying fleet reporting obligations alongside the benefit.
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.
Zenith. An end-of-contract collection fee applies, published at a minimum of £140. Beyond that, their published material directs the employee to their employer's scheme policy rather than setting out mid-contract leaver terms, and notes that eligibility conditions apply. 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.