A game-changing salary sacrifice scheme to incentivise access to electric vehicles (EVs) at affordable rates has been launched, with critical support from a Newcastle digital products agency
Pink Car Leasing, a leading national vehicle car and van leasing company, recently launched its unique Pink Salary Exchange, which is described as light years ahead of any other salary exchange scheme.
The company says its HMRC approved Pink Salary Exchange will help give a welcome boost to the UK’s emerging EV market, as well as helping fleet operators achieve net zero.
One of the other big benefits of this new scheme is that information, along with an extensive range of EVs, are quickly accessible via a web-based platform designed and created by Newcastlebased digital products studio NE6.
For the past two years, Pink Car Leasing has been working across various industries to create its new product. There has been close liaison with experts in manufacturing, insurance, taxation, and finance to ensure the product is the best in the UK. Pink Car Leasing has also been supported in this initiative by two of the world’s biggest car manufacturers – Tesla and Audi.
Pink Salary Exchange is the UK’s next generation salary sacrifice car scheme, offering benefits to both the employer and employee over more traditional and rigid salary sacrifice schemes, meaning lower costs all round.
The product puts new EVs in the reach of millions of employees, who were previously unable to afford the on-going monthly costs. Unlike any other salary exchange, businesses with just a single employee can sign up to the scheme. It also offers flexible leasing contracts from as short as six months in duration, meaning employees on fixed-term contracts can reap the benefits it offers.
In addition to giving employees the opportunity to ‘own’ either a fully electric or hybrid car at affordable prices, it also benefits businesses by reducing fleet costs, aiding, and improving ‘grey fleet’ compliance and safety.
All the benefits and features are explained on a creative and highly responsive platform developed by NE6. Steven Gibbons, director at NE6, said: “This was an exciting product for us to work on; a real disruptive entry to the salary sacrifice vehicle leasing market. The online journey for visitors is swift and simple.
“Built in Next.js, a React technology framework, the project was accelerated over a four-month build to help the client get the product to market as quickly as possible. “Everything can be managed through the portal, whether by the employee or the employer. It’s a highly responsive platform that can be tailored to individual needs. An employer can manage the scheme according to their fleet management operations and policies.
“The online management portal keeps an employer on the right side of all legal and HR fulfilment. It is fully integrated with other tools to keep things simple, up-to-date, and compliant. It also offers real-time insurance quotes along with real-time availability of electric vehicles.”
Caroline Hill, MD, of Pink Car Leasing, said: “When we were looking for a partner for this project we approached four potential suppliers and NE6 not only gave the most coherent proposal but when it came to delivering the project on time they actually exceeded our expectations.”
Businesses registering to be a part of Pink Salary Exchange can be set up – and employees able to select the vehicles of their choice – within 24 hours. Because the company works with a large network of funders, its range of new and used EV and hybrid vehicles is the biggest of any salary sacrifice scheme provider, and the most competitively priced. The amount a person pays for the car of their choice includes maintenance, insurance, and road tax, and with the deduction coming from an individual’s gross salary, instead of net, it reduces the real cost to the employee and saves National Insurance contributions.
NE6 continues to develop the initial project by adding and developing payroll integration, offering employers greater flexibility and ease of use