Volkswagen the latest car maker to apply five year warranty

THE pressure builds on Toyota to extended its guarantee as Volkswagen joins a growing list of brands giving customers better peace of mind.

Volkswagen now covers its vehicles with a five year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

NEW car warranties are the latest battleground in the car sales war and Volkswagen is the latest maker to add a permanent five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty to its arsenal.

The extended guarantee, which will be applied to all new vehicles from January 1, 2019, follows a trial period that has run since October and ends on December 31 this year.

Volkswagen Australia’s customer experience chief Jason Bradshaw said the move to a more comprehensive warranty period was due to extensive customer feedback.

“Each year more than 80,000 customers provide us feedback on Volkswagen products and the dealership experience,” says Bradshaw.

2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI.

“The business has gauged reaction to its five-year warranty campaign and so decided to implement it on an ongoing basis.”

Eight out of the top 10 selling brands now guarantee their vehicles for five years or more.

VW’s extended warranty follows similar moves by Holden and Mazda earlier this year. Kia still leads the field with its seven-yeaer/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Of the mainstream brands only Toyota, Nissan and Subaru maintain a three-year warranty period. Luxury makers Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz only offer three years’ coverage.

The remaining manufacturers with shorter coverage are showing no signs of changing tack.

Toyota is by far the best selling brand in the country despite a short warranty. Picture: Supplied.

Toyota said: “At this stage, Toyota Australia has no plans to extend its warranty for new vehicles.”

Subaru said it would “continue to evaluate” but would stick with periodic special warranty promotions for the immediate future.

“We do run occasional five-year promotional periods, but at this stage there’s no immediate plan to change from the current three-year/unlimited kilometre,” said a Subaru spokesman.

Nissan said: “We are continually monitoring the Australian market to ensure we understand and deliver on the needs of our existing and prospective customers.

“This review process does include warranty, along with a variety of other aspects related to buying and owning a vehicle.”