Octopus EV secures further £550m electric car funding
Octopus Electric Vehicles (Octopus EV) has agreed a £550 million debt securitisation facility from Lloyds Bank to fund electric vehicles, accelerating total EV funding to £1.2 billion.
The funds from this deal will play a key role in financing Octopus’ flagship EV salary sacrifice programme. Launched in 2021, this scheme empowers drivers to save 30-40% each month on a brand new electric vehicle. Octopus offers an easy all-in-one service, providing the brand new car, charger and discounted energy tariff.
Fiona Howarth, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles, commented: “Electric cars are revolutionising our roads. With battery prices down 90% since 2010, electric cars are more affordable and can travel further than ever on a single charge. Drivers can fill up at home, work or on public networks, many saving over £1,000 every year on fuel.
”The tech in our pocket transformed when Apple led the smartphone revolution. Now our roads are catching up, and with Tesla leading the way, there are now almost 30 brands with great EVs on sale in the UK.
”We’re delighted to be partnering with Lloyds to supercharge the transition, with an additional £550m to help drivers switch from old school gas guzzlers to a cleaner alternative.”
Octopus EV – the EV specialist business from the Octopus Energy Group – has become a driving force in the transition to clean, electric transport in fewer than five years.
When it launched its own lease offer in 2019, there were only a handful of electric vehicle models available to customers. Octopus EV now offers over 85 vehicles from 28 brands with a fleet exceeding £450 million in value.
Octopus EV now has more than 4,000 companies signed up to its salary sacrifice offer, including household British businesses such as Dyson, McLaren and Innocent Drinks.
Since launching its salary sacrifice offer in April 2021, Octopus EV has created more than 300 new green jobs across offices in London, Weybridge, Brighton and Manchester. Octopus recently took its expertise to America with the launch of Octopus Electric Vehicles in the US.
The company has also opened up its full service electric car package to drivers outside of salary sacrifice. This means that anyone is able to benefit from their all-in-one service, regardless of where they work – making the switch to an electric car the easiest it has ever been.
The electric car market has rocketed in recent years, with close to 900,000 cars registered on UK roads and forecasts predict that the UK will register more than 500,000 new electric cars each year by 2028. This growth has in part been driven by favourable incentives set by the UK government – including salary sacrifice and low Benefit in Kind (BiK) rates.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “As more electric vehicles become available for consumers, private sector innovation plays an important role on the road to zero emission vehicles.
“That’s why it’s fantastic to see Octopus EV expand their flagship salary sacrifice scheme to help drivers with the upfront costs and easily make the change – with Government already committing to £2 billion to support the transition to zero emission vehicles, today’s announcement shows the UK continues to make good progress on enabling people to buy the zero emission vehicles they want.”
Miray Muminoglu, Managing Director, Head of Securitised Products Group and FIG DCM at Lloyds Bank, said: “We’re delighted to become a funding partner to Octopus EV with this innovative £550m securitisation facility. Given the alignment across the two institutions in supporting the transition to net zero, and our leading auto franchise within SPG, this facility demonstrates not only our strategic ambitions to broaden and deepen our client relationships but also our commitment to help Britain prosper.”
Image courtesy of Octopus Electric Vehicles.
