[YorkMan]

I sent a polite message to Kia UK to ask if they would put the e-Niro on Motability so that we could have equal access to this great car, here is their response:

Thanks for your recent contact.

It’s great to hear your Interest in our Kia e-Niro.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention that we should have the e-Niro available on the motability scheme. The Soul EV is the only EV available on the Motability Scheme at this time. If you are interested in this, we would recommend contacting your local Kia dealer for more information.

If you are unsure of who to contact, you can find your closest Kia dealer and their contact details on our website. https://www.kia.com/uk/utility/find-a-dealer/

We take all customer feedback seriously so you can rest assured it will be passed onto the relevant department for review. We use customer comments and feedback to continuously improve our brand and the service we offer, and we appreciate the time you have taken to inform us.

Ok, its not a “yes” but the more people contact them, politely, the more they are likely to take note.  I just emailed the customer service team here:
https://www.kia.com/uk/contact-us/email-us/#insert-info

Topic

[Wigwam]

I think that is quite clearly “the computer says no”. Only one sentence appears to have been crafted by a human!

[sif]

I quote it a lot. Getting older one tends to repeat oneself.

But its the ‘bug letter’ which is quite famous and oft quoted in legal cases. A person was traveling on a train and was badly bitten by bugs. he writes personally to the head of the railroad and receives a letter. The letter sets out in quite compassionate terms all the measures the railroad will take and apologises profusely, assuring the complaining passenger about taking personal  responsibility to see it gets done.

The passenger reads the letter and is very pleased until he sees a note saying, ‘send him the standard bug letter’

 

You have just received the ‘standard bug letter’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Richard]

I think if anyone thinks emailing a company will help persuade them to put it on that it’s fairly unlikely to have any impact.

They have the Hyundai Kona on the scheme its almost the same car obviously the Niro is a  little bigger but the reason it’s not in the scheme isn’t because they’re being mean or not thought if it, they’ve obviously made a calculation somewhere probably that they can barely keep up with demand as it stands so why make matters worse for themselves?

I reckon as the EV6 gets closer to launch you’ll see the eniro hit the scheme. If sales drop off its more likely to arrive, it could be they’ve got a plan over keeping residuals at a certain level so they don’t want yo flood the market further? I don’t know I’m just guessing same as I’ll guess that feedback goes in the bin & nowhere near anyone with any authority.

[Richard]

If you want to actually stand a chance of getting to someone who might listen:

pphilpott@kia.co.uk

That’s Kia UK CEO email address

[Jsh]

Why?

Isnt there sufficient choice of full EV SUVs already on the scheme?

[gothitjulie]

Jsh wrote:

Why? Isnt there sufficient choice of full EV SUVs already on the scheme?

There’s a distinct lack of EVs with enough boot space to fit a wheelchair in so people get stuck with another fossil for 3 years. I saw this situation developing a few years ago, so I bought (imported) a lightweight folding electric wheelchair back in 2015 to be ready for when the smaller EVs started hitting Motability, the e2008 just takes the wheelchair but not the Corsa or the 208 EVs. The Zoe will but it’s a quirky driving position highly perched,and the Leaf doesn’t use CCS. Yes you can get some of the van type EVs finally but they are low range models & won’t get into many car parks due to height restrictions.

 

[Richard]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I still think that the cause of this is largely manufacturing not Motability. Typically they keep making similar cars mostly flipping small suv type.</p>
There are other options available the MG ZS boot is plenty big enough and the MG5 boot is huge true with not as big a range as say a Kona. The vivaro elife has a short range true but the height is under 2m so will fit in just about every car park as long as you don’t add anything to the top. Similar to the nv200 at just over 1.8m.

I cant think of any consumer electric vehicles that will top the 2.2m used by most car parks even the more esoteric mph conversions

[gothitjulie]

Alas the car park height restrictions around here are 1.73 metres so I had a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso & then a SEAT Alhambra when carting around my main wheelchair & ramps, the usual Citroen Berlingo Multispace is currently 1.849 metres & hence I had to find a way.

Perhaps I should move out of the Green Belt as I no longer need to be near London.

 

[gothitjulie]

If no Kia e-Niro, can I have one of these?

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/kia/ev6

“Every UK model also comes as standard with the company’s long-range 77.4kWh battery, rather than the entry-level 58kWh unit offered in other markets.”

but…

“black vegan ‘leather’”

I know some black vegans, not sure they’ll be keen on being hunted down to make leather out of their skin, sounds suspect to me.

 

 

[Ian Price]

Contacted Kia to see if the e niro was coming onto the scheme. Was looking at the Kona, shame it did meet my needs.

This is their reply.

Thanks for your recent contact.
It’s great to hear you’re interested in our Kia e-Niro and would like to be a part of the Kia family.
At this point in time there are no plans to have the e-Niro on the motability scheme. Despite the fully electric Niro not being a part of the scheme, the Niro and the PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) Niro is available on the scheme.
However, if you wish to have the e-Niro, I’d recommend monitoring the motability section of our Kia website for any possible changes or amendments to the list in the future. For your benefit, I’ve included the link below:
https://www.kia.com/uk/new-cars/motability/full-motability-price-guide/
I’m sorry the above isn’t the answer you were hoping for.
If there is anything else, I can help you with, please get in touch via email or phone on ‪0333 2022 990‬.
Kind regards
Kia UK Limited

So not yet but maybe. I have  decided to wait until due to change in 2022, hopefully it comes on by then. Although you never know we might have more EV’s on the scheme before then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Author]

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