My dealer said the same thing. If I wanted Velvet Red, I would have to pay the full amount for it (£1k) and NOT the difference between regular metallic and the premium.
He said they had tried that in the past, but Motability wouldn’t pay so the dealer had to. ‘That was an expensive mistake”, he told me.
However, when I went to see the Renault Megane e-tech, the dealer confidently said “All paint colours are included with Motability, even the premium”.
Let us know what happens!