Northride

The provision of e-bikes by an employer to an employee has been exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) since early 2023 after a successful members bill by Julie-Anne Genter. The e-bike in question has to be provided for the purpose of travelling to work. Non-electric bikes, scooters and public transport also gained exempt from FBT at the same time.

This means it is possible for an employee to fund an e-bike from their pre-tax income, costing them significantly less out of their pocket compared to purchasing one the normal way, with their already-taxed income. The legislation pertains to the provision of the bike. Accessories like hemets, are not included, while items integral to the provision of the bike such as upgrades that have become part of the bike, can be.

For this to work, an arrangement needs to be made between the employee and the employer, to cover the cost of the e-bike. This is known as a 'salary sacrifice' arrangement that reduces your (gross) income over a certain time period to cover the cost of the bike. Reducing your gross income by a certain amount will not reduce your net income or 'take home pay' by the same amount - the differential being tax (and related contributions such as kiwisaver, student loan, ACC etc). Salary sacrifice arrangements are as old as the hills and while we have some customers whose workplaces are 'doing it themselves', the majority of businesses prefer to receive assistance in the admin and paperwork process.

By 2025, there were two companies actively offering a solution to create the salary sacrifice situation - Workride and The Wheel Deal. 

In 2026, a new offering arrived in New Zealand. Finnish company Vapaus (translating to Freedom), which has been in this industry for many years in Scandinavia, launched under the name Northride specifically to serve the NZ market. 

About Northride

Northride offers the most fully developed and 'grown-up' service of e-bike salary sacrifice with a package that includes financing of the e-bike, covers insurance, a greater range of accessories and add-ons and optionally covers ongoing maintenance of the bike. The employee Northride app is highly functional after tens of thousands of transactions' experience in Europe. 

Set to a default of 2 years, the lease period is longer than other offerings, resulting in a lower monthly cost to the rider (employee). Crucially, because the model finances the e-bike from the outset, the responsibility of the bike inherently lies with Northride in the event the employee leaves the workplace before the end of the leasing term. 

The many aforementioned benefits come with their costs which means the employee (rider) does not 'save' as much on the total cost of the bike over the 2 years, the setup also means that the workplace is much more likely to sign up in the first place!

How Northride works

Your workplace needs to be registered

To get yourself one of our e-bikes using Northride, your workplace needs to agree to register in the first place. As mentioned, the Northride system is workplace-friendly, so there are fewer barriers to a company signing up. 

Choose your e-bike and ride it away!

Once your company is registered (or preparing ahead of time if you wish), you would then choose an e-bike as per normal, by visiting our store, going for test rides or with remote assistance. Unlike other schemes, you can also choose to bundle in an allowance for servicing and maintenance. Why is this exciting! Because that servicing is tax-free as well and just like the bike, will end up costing you a lot less. It's also going to come out evenly from your pay over 24 months so your budgeting is taken care of as well.

With your e-bike selected, you simply ask us to create a quote in the Northride system - all we need is your your email address. We punch in the numbers in the back-end and then you approve the quote on your Northride App and you're good to go - you can ride out of the store (or pick the bike up later if you prefer). 

After you have received the bike

In practice there isn't much difference to you once you've got the bike - we treat you the same as any other customer, with full warranties, first complimentary check-up and all the rest. Your gross pay will be reduced for 24 months to cover 90% of your purchase. And in the last month you'll need to pay the residual 10% to become the legal owner of your e-bike.