As for the choice, we should be able to choose anything we like.
I’ve always felt that should be the case. After all, APs are derived by being the difference between the cost to run the car (depreciation, servicing, tax, tyres etc) and the customers sacrificed benefits over the 3 year term, so as long as the AP reflects all additional costs then why not? Of course, at the risk of answering my own question, public (and, more importantly media) perception is the challenge. Sadly, the scheme is all too often described as being “tax payer funded ‘free’ cars”, so there has to be a limit but, IMHO, that bar is set too low, especially for ICE cars.