Yes, my dealer hinted at similar when I placed my XC40 order back in December too.
When I signed up for Mercedes CLA this week the salesman wasn’t too sure but that was because he was new to the job and1st day of doing Motability. I phoned Motability in front of him to check and they said no problem at all and also (I didn’t know this) that so long as you have a plate on a retention certificate you no longer have to ask Motability whether you are allowed to do this as they’ve removed that age old restriction from the scheme. Any customer can now put any plate they want on their car so long as it’s not rude. 😁😜 As above, easy to do yourself but yet another thumbs down to Volvo for playing silly beggars.
My Mercedes Salesman checked with his manager and he confirmed no problem for Mercedes to register a new Motability car on a private plate. 👍