Motability is a scheme in the United Kingdom intended to enable disabled people, their families and their carers to lease a new car, scooter or powered wheelchair. It is open to recipients of certain disability benefit, who exchange their weekly payments for a leased vehicle through the scheme. Insurance, vehicle excise duty and breakdown cover are all included, and customers of the scheme are eligible for a new car every three years.

Motability was founded in 1977 by Lord Sterling of Plaistow and the late Lord Goodman. It is a partnership between the charitable sector, the UK government, leading banks, and the motor and insurance industries, managed by a private company called Motability Operations Ltd, and overseen by the Motability Foundation charity. King Charles III became Chief Patron in 2024.

It is the largest fleet operator in Europe. In 2024, the scheme accounted for around 1 in 5 new cars purchased in the UK, with 815,000 people on the scheme, up 15% on the previous year. More than 20 manufacturers currently offer cars through the scheme.

By the mid-1970s, over 40% of households in the country owned a car but disabled people were underrepresented. Only those who could drive themselves received any government help with transport, usually in the form of a blue trike which was unable to take passengers.

The Mobility Allowance – now called the mobility component of PIP, formerly Disability Living Allowance – introduced by the government in 1976 was formulated to give people help regardless of ability to drive. It also signalled the government's commitment to giving disabled people choice in the form of a cash allowance, rather than imposing certain types of vehicles on them. The War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement pre-dates the Mobility Allowance by a number of years. However, when the government subsequently introduced the Mobility Allowance they set it at a lower weekly rate than the prevailing War Pensioners Mobility Supplement. This difference continues as both are increased annually by the same metric.

It soon became clear that, despite good intentions, the Mobility Allowance was not large enough to buy and run even the smallest car. The then Secretary of State for Health and Social Services invited the late Lord Goodman and (now Lord) Jeffrey Sterling to consider how disabled people could use this allowance to affordably obtain a vehicle.

Thus, Motability was born in 1977 to enable disabled people to afford a good-quality car from any participating manufacturer, fully insured, serviced, and with breakdown assistance. Motability was set up as a charity so it could also raise funds and make grants, in order to provide customers with a complete mobility package even if their allowance would not cover the type of car and adaptations that they needed.

On 25 July 1978, ten young people attended the first Motability Scheme vehicle handover at Earls Court in London and received the keys to their new vehicles from then Chairman Lord Goodman. Julie Newport, disabled by polio, was one of the ten to receive her keys and commented: "I think it's marvellous," saying the Scheme gave disabled people the freedom and independence they really wanted. Also present were Rt Hon Lord Morris, Rt Hon Lord Jenkin, Allan Beard and Jeffrey Sterling, the present Chairman of Motability. Some 220 applications were processed at the beginning of the scheme.