Local authorities can support their carbon reduction targets by encouraging more employees to use electric vehicles (EVs) through flexible salary sacrifice schemes, advises SOGO, a green mobility provider.

The company warns many drivers are still wary of EVs, but many of these concerns are addressed by prolonged test periods. SOGO launched a monthly salary sacrifice scheme to enable staff to try different models to find the right EV for them.

SOGO developed a salary sacrifice scheme that provides a cost-neutral employee benefit. Employees can drive a new vehicle, for a low fixed monthly cost, with the bonus of tax and National Insurance (NI) savings.

While councils will benefit from a flexible monthly lease, that means they aren’t tied into lengthy contracts. As an example, if an employee leaves, the employer can return the car with a month’s notice rather than trying to pass the car to another employee.

Karl Howkins, managing director of SOGO, said: “Salary sacrifice plays a crucial role in helping motorists adopt electric vehicles ahead of the ban on petrol and diesel models in 2030. The shift to greener mobility will be accelerated with increased flexibility. The pace of technology is advancing so quickly that it is a big ask to take a traditional three-year lease on an EV.

“Our ultra-flexible leasing will allow employees to run an EV with ease while offering companies the benefit of greater staff retention and greener fleets. We expect that salary sacrifice schemes will boom in popularity over the next ten years because they allow employees to move to EVs in a very cost-effective way.”

The mobility provider doubled the size of its electric vehicle fleet over the last 12 months. EVs are ideal for salary sacrifice schemes due to their zero emissions, attracting lower tax, and much lower running costs than ICE vehicles.

Local authorities are looking to make significant savings on their carbon impact as they report on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. While investors are increasingly applying these non-financial factors to identify material risks and growth opportunities as part of their analysis process.

The green mobility provider offers customers ultra-flexible terms with monthly leasing on cars and vans. It has teamed up with BP to offer carbon-offset motoring across petrol, diesel and EVs. It joined the energy giant’s programme to help fleet customers measure, reduce and offset their carbon emissions.

Visit www.sogomobility.co.uk for further information.