Motability blame the residuals on EVs being so rubbish as the main cause for pushing up APs and yet they still push them very hard!
Well, as Motability Operations walk a pretty thin tightrope in the triangle between Government and manufacturer targets, their owning banks and their defined customer base, what else can they do? Apart from becoming a ‘dumping ground’ for EV’s that retail buyers currently do not want.
Their latest 2025 Half Year results issued last month:
https://www.mo.co.uk/media/1swdkogg/half-year-report-2025.pdf
shows yet another pre-tax loss (on top of the full 2024 year losses) of -£144.6m for the half-year 2025 (with underlying losses accounting for -£75.3m of this).
Assuming the purchasing of vehicles is ‘as lean’ as it possibly can be whilst still maintaining customer choice (i.e. the leveraging of discounts from many manufacturers), it seems the losses must mount up at resale with poor residual values.
Yes, staff can be trimmed here and there, even their perks etc, but that is akin to tinkering around the edges within the overall financial structure.
However, one does wonder how long these losses can continue without a major structural reform of both Motability Operations and the scheme itself, unless such as AP’s rise consistently and considerably to help stem the ongoing losses.
I am sure many here can speculate where else Motability Operations can save money, but these losses are starting to become so well ingrained into the business, that one does wonder about its long term viabiliity.