PIP should be means tested I know a few people who have had millions in compensation and still claim PIP and can still get a Motability car. They simply don’t need the money nor Motability car. It should be for those who need it. There should be more choice of cars. Far too many SUV’s which a lot of wheelchair users can’t get in and out of easily. The push for electric cars too being a full time wheelchair user myself there is no way I can plug a charger in cables far too heavy and most have curbs around them so can’t wheel up close to grab it. Obviously no accessibility in mind as usual. It’s a new infrastructure for crying out loud it should be. You may have a current car on lease that is perfect for your needs and nothing at all that is on the new price lists and now you can’t buy the car at the end of lease if you had any means to do so that is wrong. Motability is all about making money more now than doing what it was supposed to be doing it’s gone down hill big time.
Good on them, if they have claimed compensation for being made disabled however, PIP etc is a payment to help with extra costs of being disabled. Its also worth noting not everone eligible to join the scheme and I guess the majority who can afford to buy a better car, than the scheme allows do so privately. By means testing it, your opening a large can of worms!
Most vehicles on the scheme are small-large crossover’s, which are built on a unibody chassis construction shared with passenger cars but, have a slightly raised ride height. An SUV on the otherhand are built on a body on frame chassis construction. Think Landrover, Rangerover etc.
I agree not everyone wants an EV, whether due to not being able to charge at home, their disabilty prevents them or they simply don’t want one. Unfortunately sooner or later there will be no choice in the matter however, Motability have taken the idea by storm and are increasing ICE AP’s to beyond affordable or to a point they don’t make sense in the real world. My guess is Motability and to some extent other leasing companies, have become a backdoor for manufacturers to off load their EV’s to meet and avoid ZEV fines. Perhaps they are getting a backhander for doing so!
Perhaps it’s worth you looking into extending your current lease 🙂