Zenith Provecta has received triple the expected interest in its new salary sacrifice scheme, taking 350 orders and processed 20,000 quotes in the first six weeks.
And the company expects to take order numbers into four figures over the next year, boosted by between three and five new companies adopting the scheme.
The scheme is currently running across two firms described by Zenith as “major fleet operators” with around 15,000 eligible employees.
The scheme, which works at no cost to the employer, operates in two ways. Alongside a company car scheme it enables workers not entitled to a company car to opt-in and pay for one out of their salary. If a firm opts to run only salary sacrifice, drivers with company cars get a cash allowance to the same value as their car, while the rest of the workforce can opt in.
The vehicle is leased from Zenith and includes insurance, risk management, breakdown cover, road fund licence, servicing and maintenance. The firm claims drivers not entitled to a company car can, under a salary sacrifice scheme, save up to £70-£100 compared with the cost of running their own car.
Salary sacrifice works most effectively with lower-CO2 models as the tax savings are higher, which is why the 350 vehicles ordered so far have averaged just 114g/km.
“There is no doubt that salary sacrifice represents a win-win for the employee, employer, the environment, duty of care and, in these tough times, the car industry and wider economy in general,” said Andrew Cope, Zenith Provecta’s chief executive.