News come as BYD reveals UK did not make the long-list for its first European car plant due to post-Brexit political instability

Octopus Electric Vehicles has inked a deal with BYD which will see it become the "preferred salary sacrifice provider" for the Chinese automaker as it launches in the UK.

Under the terms of the deal, announced today, Octopus EV will purchase 5,000 vehicles from BYD, the biggest electric vehicle (EV) maker in the world, starting with its Atto 3 SUV. It intends to offer the cars to UK customers over the next three years through its salary sacrifice scheme.

Octopus EV said the addition of BYD's all-electric SUV to its books meant it now has more than 85 models available to customers, covering every EV model currently on offer in the UK.

"When Octopus EVs launched, there were only a handful of EVs on the market - we're now at more than 85 and the figure is rising all the time," said Oliver Boots, chief commercial officer at Octopus EV. "Being able to partner with BYD as they launch in the UK is a real milestone. They're a global leader and we're looking forward to being able to offer our five-star Trustpilot service to customers - accelerating our growth and moving us another step closer to zero emission transport in the UK."

Octopus EV said the deal was its largest to date and noted that the companies had agreed the tie-up could go beyond the original order of 5,000 cars.

Michael Shu, general manager and managing director for BYD Europe, said the tie-up marked an "exciting new chapter" for the automaker. "BYD staunchly believes in partnerships with likeminded organisations, and our shared commitment to e-mobility and sustainable innovation for a greener future, endorses our mutual aims," he said.

News of the tie-up comes a day after Shu told the Financial Times that political instability had meant the UK had not made its longlist for potential sites for its first European car factory.

"As an investor we want a country to be stable," he told the paper. "To open a factory . . . is a decision for decades. Without Brexit, maybe. But after Brexit, we don't understand what happened. The UK doesn't have a very good solution. Even on the long list we didn't have the UK."

The UK has struggled to attract investment from electric vehicle companies in recent years, with Tesla citing Brexit as one of the reasons behind its decision to pick Germany for its first European plant and the CEO of Nissan last month warning it was considering moving production of future EV models outside of the UK in response to a "challenging" operating environment.