NB: When did you and Lyndsey first decide to focus on electric vehicles?
ST: We were eager to switch to an electric car, but like many, we found the price out of reach. The more I looked into it, the more I realised how inaccessible electric cars still were for many people.
I saw how the salary sacrifice model could solve this problem. The government's ultra-low Benefit in Kind rate for EVs creates huge tax savings for aspiring electric car drivers, offering 30-60% off the usual monthly lease. With my background in scaling tech businesses and understanding distribution models through employers, I saw a clear opportunity and business model. The timing of the ultra-low Benefit in Kind rates, combined with the UK government's ambitious Net Zero targets, everything aligned, and loveelectric was born. [1]
This was our chance to drive our dream car, and to bring affordable electric transport to businesses and their teams nationwide.
NB: What do you think has driven loveelectric's rapid growth and success?
ST: It was definitely a bit of ‘right time, right place!' The biggest barrier to EV adoption has always been the cost, and salary sacrifice provided a compelling solution to overcome that. There weren't many companies in the market offering salary sacrifice when we launched in 2021, and even fewer specialising in it, which allowed us to move quickly and make an impact.
Since then, we've continued to scale our growth and impact. From day one, we've focused on reducing the cost barriers that stop people from driving EVs. Introducing reloved®, our used EV salary sacrifice marketplace, was a game-changer, lowering the salary requirement and making the switch to electric transport even more affordable. This innovation has opened up electric driving to more people than ever before, while companies see even greater CO2e reductions.
Our tech platform has also played a key role. We built it to simplify every aspect of the process - from finding the right EV to managing the lease and insurance - making it easy for businesses to offer the benefit to their teams.
loveelectric [2]