The Kia Picanto was commonly sold on
Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and
Hire Purchase (HP) finance agreements during the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) investigation period, which spans from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024. The FCA found that
discretionary commission arrangements between car dealerships and lenders may have led to mis-selling of motor finance products for vehicles like the Picanto.
How the Kia Picanto was Typically Financed
The typical finance amount for a new Kia Picanto ranged from £15,000 to £30,000, with Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) being one of the most popular financing methods. PCP agreements typically have terms ranging from 36 to 48 months and often include a balloon payment at the end of the term, which represents the residual value of the car.
Common lenders that provided finance for the Kia Picanto included
Black Horse, Barclays Partner Finance,
Close Brothers Motor Finance,
MotoNovo Finance, and
Santander Consumer Finance. These agreements could potentially have been affected by the FCA's findings on discretionary commission arrangements during the investigation period.
The FCA Motor Finance Investigation
The FCA investigated the motor finance industry from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024 and found that 12.1 million eligible agreements (FCA, March 2026) by potential mis-selling practices (FCA estimate). These practices involved discretionary commission arrangements where lenders paid car dealerships additional payments based on performance, which could have incentivised dealers to push customers towards more expensive financing options.
The FCA estimated the total amount of overcharged interest and fees across all affected agreements at £7.5 billion (FCA, March 2026), with an average cost per customer of approximately £829 (FCA estimate).
How to Check Your Agreement The investigation period covered agreements from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024. If your agreement falls within this timeframe, it could be affected by the findings.
Look for any mention of "discretionary commission arrangements" or a reference to your lender paying your dealership extra payments based on performance metrics. Another key term to look out for is “DCA” (Discretionary
Commission Arrangement) in your contract documentation.
If you suspect that your Kia Picanto finance agreement was mis-sold, you can complain directly to your lender at no cost. Common lenders for the Kia Picanto include Black Horse, Barclays Partner Finance, Close Brothers Motor Finance, MotoNovo Finance, and Santander Consumer Finance.
When contacting your lender, provide clear evidence of how the discretionary commission arrangements may have influenced your finance agreement. You do not need a
claims management company to handle this process; complaining directly is free and straightforward. The
Financial Ombudsman Service (
FOS) can also help mediate disputes between you and your lender if no resolution is reached.
Sources and References
- FCA, 2024: Investigation into motor finance practices from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024.
- ONS Census 2021: Population statistics for the United Kingdom.
Based on 179,709 MOT tests conducted in 2024 (source: DVSA anonymised test data), the Kia Picanto has a pass rate of 79.8%. This is close to the national average of 79.6%, meaning the Picanto performs about average in MOT testing.
The Picanto pass rate is in line with the overall Kia average of 81.4%. The average mileage at MOT for this model is 48,776 miles.
- MOT pass rate: 79.8%
- MOT failure rate: 20.2%
- Tests analysed: 179,709 (2024 DVSA data)
- Average mileage at test: 48,776 miles
- Kia average pass rate: 81.4%
- National average pass rate: 79.6%
Data source: DVSA anonymised MOT test results 2024, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.