Five year warranty for all Volkswagens from New Years Day

Volkswagen has confirmed that it will offer all new VW passenger car, SUV and light commercial vehicle buyers a five year, unlimited kilometre warranty, starting from January 1 2019.

This puts Volkswagen on the same warranty footing as seven of the top ten car brands in Australia, including Hyundai, Mazda, Holden and Ford. It also moves it past the three-year warranties offered by Nissan, Subaru and Toyota, and premium European brands like Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW.

Volkswagen's five-year warranty still trails brands like Tesla (eight years/160,000km) and Kia (seven years/unlimited km), though.

The change comes off the back of a retail offering late in 2018 that provided two extra years on top of the standard three to VW customers on the purchase of MY19 cars like the updated Golf, Tiguan and Polo.

“Each year more than 80,000 customers provide us feedback on Volkswagen products and the dealership experience,” said Jason Bradshaw, Volkswagen Group Australia’s Director of Customer Experience and Marketing, in a statement. “The business has gauged reaction to its five year warranty campaign and so decided to implement it on an ongoing basis.”

The new five-year warranty – which is already offered by VW’s sibling brand Skoda – will stretch to authorised accessories that are bought with the vehicle. Customers will also receive 12 months' free roadside assistance, while owners who service their cars at VW can extend their roadside assistance each year.

Volkswagen commercial vehicles will also benefit from the change, including the large Crafter van and the Amarok dual-cab ute.

VW customers who bought cars before October 1 are still able to buy an extra two years' warranty at any time before the end of their three-year factory coverage.