Motability cuts premium car brands: BMW and Audi disappointed by removal

The Motability Foundation has announced that it has removed premium brands from its listings, with dozens of models set to be unavailable to order via the scheme after 30th November.

For those unaware, the Motability scheme is run by the charity Motability Operations and enables those claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) to exchange their monthly allowance for rental of a brand-new car. These cars are often modified to meet the personal accessibility needs of the driver.

One of the main criticisms of the Motability scheme, which funds roughly 15 per cent of new cars being brought onto the road in the UK, is the ability for customers to select models from premium brands such as BMW and Mercedes. It’s worth pointing out, however, that to hire one of these premium cars, claimants would need to pay out of their own pockets to cover the extra cost.

However, as part of her speech at the 2025 Autumn Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The Motability scheme was set up to protect the most vulnerable, not to subsidise the lease on a Mercedes Benz.”

“I am making reforms that will reduce generous taxpayer subsidies and Motability have confirmed that they will remove luxury vehicles from their scheme,” Reeves continued, “getting [it] back to its original purpose of offering cost effective leases to disabled people.”

New focus on British-built cars

Instead, the government and Motability intend to place a greater focus on British-made cars in order to support the nation’s manufacturing industry; by 2035, Motability’s aim is to have 50 per cent of cars leased through the scheme having been built in Britain.

Motability’s Chief Executive, Andrew Miller, explained how: “The Motability Scheme makes a difference to disabled people’s lives every day and our customers tell us it is a lifeline to freedom and independence. Working with government and the automotive sector, we want to do even more to support the economy and our ambitious commitment should put British car manufacturing into top gear.”

Motability tells Auto Express that it defines premium models as those produced by Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz; interestingly, MINI, Polestar and Volvo vehicles all remain available to applicants. It’s unclear at this stage how specific brands were chosen for exclusion.

A spokesperson for Audi told Auto Express that: “Audi strongly believes in customer choice and is disappointed models from the brand will no longer be offered on the Motability scheme”. BMW Group UK also said it's sure that “this decision will be disappointing for the many BMW customers who participated in the scheme, and we will work with Motability to ensure prompt vehicle delivery for any existing orders.”

The move hasn’t been all that well received by disability rights activists, either; Graham Foster, chief executive of Disabled Motoring UK, explained how: “This politically motivated decision will be disappointing to some Motability customers who are prepared to pay the extra advanced payments in order to drive the vehicle of their choice. All this does is reduce the range of vehicles on the scheme and customer choice”.

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