Kia on November 4 announced a partnership with UK disability‑focused vehicle leasing operator Motability to strengthen mobility services for people with reduced mobility.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding on November 3 at Kia’s Seoul headquarters. Attendees included Kia President Song Ho‑sung and Kim Sang‑dae, head of the PBV Business Division, and Motability CEO Andrew Miller and CCO Damian Oton. The agreement aims to expand purpose‑built vehicle (PBV) adoption in the U.K. and accelerate development of inclusive designs and electrified technologies for mobility‑impaired users.
Motability is the U.K.’s largest vehicle leasing organization for people with disabilities, serving roughly 860,000 customers and operating around 35,000 wheelchair‑accessible vehicles (WAVs) and 94,000 electric vehicles. The organization recently unveiled the eVITA concept, an EV designed to accommodate wheelchair boarding, underscoring its efforts to improve accessibility.
Under the MOU, Kia will leverage its PBV lineup to bolster electrified mobility services for disabled users, focusing on its PV5 WAV model as a core offering for global inclusive mobility solutions. The PV5 WAV incorporates universal design principles to benefit wheelchair users, caregivers and drivers, featuring lateral boarding for wheelchairs, wheelchair restraint systems, a third‑row tip‑up seat and spacious interiors for easy wheelchair storage.
Production of the vehicles is planned at Kia’s PBV‑dedicated plant in Hwaseong, the EVO Plant, which Kia says will minimize resource waste and enhance sustainability through efficient manufacturing.
Kia will supply the PV5 base model and PV5 WAV to Motability, which plans to roll out services in the U.K. using the vehicles beginning in 2026. The partnership is expected to reinforce Kia’s technical leadership in electrified WAVs while supporting Motability’s long‑term electrification strategy and customer value expansion.
The companies said they will continue collaborating across Kia’s PBV lineup on WAV development and broaden cooperation into areas such as cost‑reducing smart charging solutions and joint research on next‑generation energy management technologies including V2H (vehicle‑to‑home) and V2G (vehicle‑to‑grid).
They also plan to jointly analyze WAV market data to inform development of a wheelchair‑accessible version of Kia’s upcoming large PBV model, the PV7.
