Volkswagen introduces temporary five-year warranty
BY TUNG NGUYEN | 1st Oct 2018
VOLKSWAGEN Group Australia (VGA) will offer all new models sold by year’s end with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty for private and trade use, which will be used to gauge whether the assurance period becomes a permanent feature.
The new warranty period is a two-year increase over the brand’s standard three-year/unlimited kilometre package and matches offerings from competitors such as Mazda, Ford, Honda, Hyundai and subsidiary Skoda.
However, VGA general manager of communications Paul Pottinger told GoAuto the increased warranty is designed to offer customers better support, not to compete directly against rival brands.
“Let’s see how it goes … let’s see what the take-up and interest is, it’s a campaign at the moment and if it proves successful there’s every chance it will become a permanent fixture,” he said.
“We are competitive at the moment, our problem is supply and we’ve been saying that all year, it’s a situation that is exacerbated by WLTP and we’ve been outspoken about our obligation with ACL (Australian Consumer Law) and that’s still extant,” he said.
“Perhaps this will just provide clarity for some people.”
In addition to the new warranty period, select Volkswagen models across the passenger car and light-commercial vehicle line-up will also gain driveaway pricing.
Highlighting the new pricing is the new-generqtaion Polo 70TSI Trendline manual for $17,990, the Golf 110TSI manual for $23,990, Arteon seven-speed automatic for $68,990, Passat Alltrack 140TDI for $49,990, Caddy Van Runner TSI160 manual for $25,490 and Amarok V6 Sportline 4x4 dual cab TDI550 auto for $53,990.
VGA managing director Michael Bartsch said the new pricing and warranty scheme is a direct result of buyer feedback.
“From the 80,000 customer surveys that VGA conducts annually, we see strong response to our driveaway pricing and finance offers,” he said.
“Customer reaction to five-year warranty will be informative.”
Year to date, Volkswagen Australia has sold 38,087 units to the end of August, a 1.1 per cent increase over the same period last year.
New models still to launch by the end of 2018 include an updated Golf GTI, a special-edition Golf R and entry-level Amarok V6.
