It’s heading towards being a scheme for the rich only.
For what it’s worth, I have the complete opposite view! I feel that those customers who are in a strong financial position will leave the scheme and go down the private route, where there is unlimited choice and, certainly if buying rather than leasing, the potential to get a better car for less money.
Those who remain will be those whose financial position / credit rating etc does not allow them that option (but they still want a brand new car every 3-5 years), those who live in areas where insurance premiums would be prohibitive or those who get the most out of the generous annual mileage allowance that Motability offer. In reality, that latter group seems to be a tiny minority of scheme members.
That being said, those who are in the most hardship most likely made the decision many years ago that they couldn’t entertain Motability, as the prospect of sacrificing almost £10k every 3 years or over £16k every 5 years in order to have a brand new car is just not sensible use of their limited resources. It is no surprise that two thirds of those eligible to join Motability choose not to do so.