Recent research carried out by employee car benefits provider Tusker has shown that Electric Vehicles have continued to be the most popular choice of vehicle for the second year in a row for those drivers who have chosen a new vehicle as part of Tusker’s salary sacrifice car benefits scheme.
Once considered a novelty, this new data shows that EVs are now viewed as a serious new car choice and that salary sacrifice schemes are giving drivers the opportunity to move up into more premium brands.
There is no doubt that a major evolution is taking place in people’s driving habits, with all of the top 10 cars ordered through Tusker last year being either fully electric or a hybrid model. The top 10 most popular cars in alphabetical order were:
- Audi Q4 e-tron
- BMW iX3
- Hyundai IONIQ 5 electric
- Kia Niro
- Mercedes-Benz A Class (PHEV)
- Mercedes-Benz EQC
- Nissan Leaf
- Peugeot e2008
- Tesla Model 3
- Volkswagen ID.3
Today, drivers are tending to move away from their older higher emission cars to electric vehicles, whereas in 2019 the top 10 list was made up of all petrol and diesel cars with just one EV, the Tesla Model 3. To see the list now made up of entirely all EVs there has clearly been a change in mindset, as EVs have become more affordable, in part, thanks to the salary sacrifice scheme.
2021 saw many more EVs launched onto the market as manufacturers added new EVs into their model range, such as Audi, Mercedes and Peugeot. More established brands in the EV market, like Nissan, Kia and Hyundai have also invested more and expanded their EV offerings.
What the recent Tusker research has shown however, is that the vast majority of their drivers would not have opted for an EV had it not been for the salary sacrifice scheme.
While Tusker is an advocate for EV motoring, it is also well aware that there are many drivers who are not ready to make the switch to electric yet, particularly those drivers that do high annual mileages or do not have access to a convenient charge point at home. Therefore PHEVs have proved to be popular with this segment of the market, with the Mercedes A Class PHEV being a popular choice for the second year running. In fact 17% of Tusker’s orders last year were PHEVs.
Paul Gilshan, CEO of Tusker says:
“The shift in ordering behaviour away from petrol and diesel-powered vehicles, towards EVs has been rapid, and conclusive. We are proud to offer a product that makes Electric driving affordable for the mass market.
“We have seen the rise in uptake of salary sacrifice schemes, alongside the continuation of low BIK rates that encourage drivers away from traditional fuel types and into affordable and environmentally friendly vehicles.”
As a direct result of this change in buying habits, Tusker has managed to lower its average order emissions from 107.9g/Km, to just 36.6g/Km in just two years and offsets a quarter of a million tonnes of carbon through verified Carbon Standards Programs and aims to have a zero-emission fleet by 2030.
Author Bio:
Simon Burrell is Editor of Our Man Behind The Wheel, a professional photographer and former saloon car racing driver.
Photographs courtesy of Tusker
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