Chery aiming for industry-leading warranty

WARRANTY is one of the key battlefields that returning Chinese brand Chery is aiming to fight for supremacy in.

The company has not yet announced any specific details around its new car warranty plan, but it is expected to aim up at some of the longest warranty offers in the market in order to carve a place for itself in the minds of new-car customers.

Chery Australia marketing director James Curtis told GoAuto the company is fully aware of the current trend toward longer warranty plans, and that it intends to trump the current best-in-class offerings.

In order to achieve this, Chery will need to offer a warranty better than seven years and unlimited kilometres, which is currently touted by fellow Chinese brands GWM Haval and MG, as well as Czech marque Skoda, not to mention Korean car-maker SsangYong and the brand that started the trend, Kia.

There is also Mitsubishi Motors Australia, which offers a controversial conditional 10-year warranty plan (200,000km) that is reliant on owners having their vehicle serviced by the brand’s own workshops at the stipulated capped-price servicing rate. Should owners not follow those rules, they will only receive five years/100,000km of warranty.

Could that mean an eight-year/unlimited kilometre plan for Chery? Mr Curtis would not confirm the brand’s intentions, but did state that he wanted Chery to be considered for more than just its warranty cover.

“From a quality, features, finish, warranty, aftersales (point of view) – we’re going to be as good as the established players in the market,” claimed Mr Curtis.

“We’re not going to be worse than the market. Without a doubt, warranty is really important in the consumer’s mind, so warranty for us will be at the competition level, if not better. We’re aiming to be best in market – that’s where we’re benchmarking against.

“It has to be at least seven (years) – you look at the competitors, it has to be at least seven,” he said.

“We’re always looking at the market – if it changes tomorrow, we’ll change the number. It just depends on what it is. For us, warranty is a hallmark of the quality of our vehicles. It’s not an insurance policy,” he said.

It has to be acknowledged that the warranty cover on offer is a terrific marketing tool for a brand to help entice buyers, but Mr Curtis insisted that the brand will not disappoint its customers despite potentially offering a game-changing on-paper ownership promise.

“We’re very mindful that our warranty needs to be a hallmark of the vehicle quality, and that our vehicles are dependable and can last that long. With a number of seven (years) plus, we’re really confident that we’re in the ballpark,” he said.

Mr Curtis, who has worked in the field of logistics in previous roles – also wanted to make it clear that the brand will have servicing plans for buyers that are manageable and affordable.

“Servicing is a really important part of car ownership, and servicing is also a really important part of the retailer atmosphere. It’s a touchpoint for the customer – so we’ve got to make sure we get the right service intervals, we’ve got to make sure we’ve got enough parts in stock to be able to service at,” he said. 

Chery has yet to announce its Australian dealer network plans, but it is understood the company is expecting to have a strong retail footprint on the eastern seaboard.

The Chery brand will launch in February with the Omoda 5 compact SUV, which was awarded a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating in 2022 testing.