Skoda joins Kia, MG and GWM Haval in offering longer warranty period as standard for new cars

Skoda has become the first European manufacturer to offer customers a seven-year warranty as standard on new cars.

It joins the likes of Kia, MG, GWM, Haval and SsangYong in the seven-year club, bested by Mitsubishi’s decade-long conditional warranty.

Skoda says the change will retroactively take place from September 1st, so deliveries, of both new and sales demonstrators from that date will get the full seven years.

This encompasses all Skoda models, including RS-badged performance models.

This comes about a year after Skoda Australia introduced a temporary seven-year warranty for customers who bought between September to the end of 2021 as a celebration of the brand’s year-to-date sales having surpassed its previous annual record.

In addition to new customers, any customers who have purchased a Skoda in the last five years are eligible to extend their existing five-year warranty by two years with Skoda valuing the extra two years between $1150 and $1670.

Skoda Australia Director Michael Irmer said the move was brought on by the brand’s ‘simply clever’ motto and desire to provide “ease of ownership, peace of mind and more metal for the money”.

“Seven year’s warranty is full cover without common exclusions such as infotainment systems or starter batteries,” Mr Irmer said.

“We remain intent on becoming a leading brand in the sphere of lifetime ownership experience in Australia.”

The warranty extension joins Skoda’s seven-year servicing pack option as a way for customers to add value to their purchase, with the packs usually costing small increments more than Skoda’s five-year packs.

Skoda’s parent brand, Volkswagen, will keep its warranty as a five-year offering.