The UK’s biggest fleet, whose “explosive” growth in June last year was credited with helping car makers through a tricky period, has reported losses of more than half a billion pounds – saying this highlights the growing cost of car ownership and volatile resale values of EVs.
Motability Operations, the company behind the Motability charity, buys cars and leases them to people with a qualifying disability allowance for £75.75 per week. The package includes road tax, servicing, insurance, breakdown cover, and tyre and windscreen repair. It has become a major player in the UK car market since its 1977 foundation and now has a fleet of 815,000 cars.
Despite a 15% rise in the number of people joining the scheme last year, the firm posted a £564.6 million pre-tax loss for 2024, a huge drop from the £748m profits it recorded in 2023.
The company, which is owned by four major banks including Barclays and HSBC, blamed rises in the cost of servicing, insurance and new cars, including EVs. It says insurance, for instance, has risen by 46% since 2022, resulting in an additional £700 cost per vehicle over a typical three-year lease.
A further contributing factor was what it called the “reduced value” of the 250,000 ex-lease vehicles it sells to the motor trade each year. Vehicles in the best condition go through its direct disposals business and the rest are put through third-party auctions.
Even more damning is that the losses came despite the company’s revenue actually jumping by 24.4%, from £5.5 billion in 2023 to £6.9bn last year.
As a result, the firm said the increases in its costs will result in new customers paying higher advance lease payments. Currently, this is set at £750.
CEO Andrew Miller said: “With the level of change in the market – driven by rising inflation, higher energy costs and the transition to EVs – drivers across the UK are seeing increasing costs and we are not immune to this.
“Until now, we have been able to protect customers from rising prices, using the profits earned in the immediate post-Covid period. Our investments will now come to an end and customers will see rising advance [lease] payments.”
Despite the losses, Motability looks set to remain a major force in the new and used car markets – it is the biggest single-source supplier of used cars – and, crucially, a key player in the UK’s transition to EVs.
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Enyaq Coupé from £47,500 AP £1,700-£2,700
CUPRA Terramar from £37,000 equivalent model £46,625 AP £1,900-£6,495 equivalent model AP £5,995
that is the problem they have used disabled people to help car companies deal with the fallout from not selling enough EV's, by increasing the AP on ICE vehicles to disproportionate amounts, to force people with disabilities into unsuitable cars, electric cars are not always suitable, some electric cars have a 0-60 of 5.5 seconds, plus the power is instant, for some disabled and older people driving some of these cars safely can be very challenging , charging points are also an issue as dispite what people think, most people dont have a drive way for the charging point, these among other things have contributed to the low re-sell prices for EV's, which is the real reason why they have lost money, the EV's they have forced people into have a bad resale value, which i would say is bad managment and a problem of their own making, unfortunatley its disabled people who rely on motability that have to pay the price for their choices.
No one's being forced to buy an BEV.
read it again, I have explained it already, and if you dont understand ask someone to read it to you
Bad managerment, I don't see how they can lose money when they're so expensive, especially as it's mean't to be run along the lines as a charity. £300 pound a month for a say a i20 plus an upfront payment, rip off!
Oh and don't get me started how they sell their used cars.
hahaha bad managerment....the irony
hahaha bad managerment...the irony that you cant even spell it
What is this a spelling test. Either way thank for your pointless contribution, although there was irony in that it took you two posts to formulate ONE sentence in an attempt to poke fun at my English, lol.
p.s. my post was not ironic as management and spelling don't really have a direct link up.
The package DOES NOT include Road Tax because as a disabled person you would be exempt from Road Tax.
Also EV's for disabled people are a very bad idea because some may not be able to access the charger units on the side of the road or in a variety of other locations
Marc - wow, nice Donald Trump commentary there? Your post indicates that you particularly 'educated' & informed on this? So any figures to back your comment up ? Research based / your proof? My better half is blind & my wee one is severely visually impaired and the scheme has been a lifeline to be honest. Incidentally, it's not cheap being disabled ? Look some stats up on this when you search for your other missing figures :-)
What a bell.
Of course there is always the selfish few that cheat any system, but the vast vast majority of claimants are genuine. While those (overstated) cheats are infuriating, their cost in the system is miniscule. Dont forget that not all disabilities are immediately visible too.
Anyone begrudging the very few 'perks', if you consider slightly discounted rates on transport as such, of having a disability should take a step back and consider their viewpoint. No one chooses to have a disability, and none are 'winning' over you or anyone else by getting a car on motorbility scheme.
WTF ! Did you read the last contributer's post? Yes you are defo a bell and at least you admit it. What a sad state of affairs. Back to your Tesla in Texas for you.. go.. on... beat it.
Anyway. Seeing as we've seen an exponential rise in motability and other disability claims over the last decade or more, is it the case that,
A, as a society we are becoming more disabled?
B, we are getting better at diagnosis and categorising disabilities
C, there's more fraudulent claims being made
I am not claiming and never have claimed the two specific commentators are making fraudulent claims, but there has been a huge increase in claims, I merely made a suggestion that many of these may be fraudulent.
I don't drive a Tesla, only been to Texas on holiday and not too sure what my preference in politics have to do with anything I have put to print. Seeing as many seem to casting aspersions on my politics, I'm not right wing by the way, 35 year liberal democrat voter.