Go Electric on our Car Benefit Scheme
Better for the environment, better for you
There’s never been a better time to drive electric! Electric cars on our car benefit scheme are the most tax efficient cars available due to the low Benefit in Kind tax and the income tax and National Insurance savings available.
There are now electric cars in every style, from the supermini to large SUVs and high performance cars. With improved technology, some electric cars can now offer a range of 300 miles on a single charge.
What you need to know before driving an Electric Vehicle.
Adoption of Electric Vehicles is growing at a rapid pace but what should drivers know before they get behind the wheel of an EV for the first time?
This guide looks to give all the information you need to drive an EV and how to make the most out of this exciting new technology.
Download our guide
Why consider an electric car?
Journey Cost Calculator
Electric vehicles offer a number of benefits over conventional petrol or diesel models. From low Benefit in Kind, to road tax and fuel savings, there really is no better time to switch to electric.
Use the Journey Cost Calculator to compare electric car costs with a petrol or diesel car and find out the savings you could make.
Compare electric and conventional car journey costsWhere can I charge an electric car?
Understanding how and where you can charge an electric car is really important to know and understand before ordering a car on the scheme. Charging your car at home can be the cheapest and fastest way to charge. However, if you don’t have off road parking you would need to consider other options and look at the public network near to you and your work.
Public Charging
There are more than 30,000 car-charging points across the UK. There are different speeds of charging, including rapid chargers, which, depending on your battery size can take only 30 minutes to charge your car to 80% of its battery capacity. For most public charging points, you will need to download their smartphone app and create an account to use their services although some rapid units are starting to be installed that have contactless PAYG card readers. Many charge points are free to use but there are some that require a small payment for a flat connection fee or a cost per charging time. The majority of fast and rapid chargers require payment. Charging tariffs tend to comprise a flat connection fee, a cost per charging time (pence per hour) and/or a cost per energy consumed (pence per kWh).
To see every electric vehicle charging station across the UK simply visit our charging map:
Find a charging station
Home Charging
Most hybrid or electric cars can be charged simply from a normal 3 pin household plug socket, but this would take much much longer than a specific electric car chargepoint which you can get installed at your home address. These home charging points can typically fully charge your car in 5-7 hours.
The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme
For the last few years, the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) provided an incentive for getting a homecharge point installed in the form of a grant. This grant provides up to £350 off the cost of installation and purchase of a home chargepoint through an approved installer. For residents in Scotland, an additional grant of up to £250 (or £350 for those in the most remote areas of Scotland) is available via the Energy Savings Trust Scotland. From April 2022, the above grant will no longer be open to homeowners (including people with mortgages) who live in single-unit properties such as bungalows and detached, semi detached and terraced houses. Installations in single-unit properties need to be completed by 31 March 2022 to be eligible for the grant.
The scheme will remain open after 31st March 2022 but only for:
- homeowners who live in flats
- anyone living in rental accommodation (flats or single use properties)
For more information, please visit the OZEV website
Getting a home chargepoint installed
Contact one of the companies who offer this installation. Details of the OZEV authorised installers can be found on their website or Tusker can provide details of a chargepoint provider where we’re able to offer a small discount for Tusker drivers. We recommend you do this as soon as you can to ensure you can get a chargepoint installed before you order an electric car with us.
Your installer will the contact you to arrange an online suitability survey to ensure your home can get a chargepoint installed by running through the standard requirements. This survey will identify if you need any additional remedial work like a new isolation switch or any ground works.
Some installers may require certain paperwork to confirm use of an electric car or if you’re eligible for the EVHS then additional paperwork will need to be submitted so the installer can make the claim.
Once your installer has all the necessary paperwork, they will confirm if your chargepoint can be installed and will then get a date agreed with you. We’d recommend arranging this with them as soon as you can to ensure you don’t take delivery of your car before an installation date is available. It’ll be at this point that the installer will then arrange any necessary payment with you.
Articles about Electric Cars
Frequently asked questions
Want to learn more about driving electric or going hybrid?
Visit our Knowledge Hub to find our guides and insight from drivers who have made the switch themselves. You’ll be an expert in no-time.
Knowledge Hub