Audi has ditched its three-year warranty in Australia.
Audis delivered from January 1, 2022 in Australia will have a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. The warranty covers the whole range, including S, RS, and e-tron models.
The move brings the brand into line with luxury rivals Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Genesis, Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover, along with the wider mainstream market.
It also aligns Audi with Volkswagen and Skoda, now its siblings under the Volkswagen Group Australia umbrella.
“We’ve listened to our customers and are proud to make our five-year warranty a permanent feature of the Audi ownership experience,” said Paul Sansom, Volkswagen Group Australia managing director.
Audi’s move pours more pressure on BMW and Alfa Romeo to improve their three-year warranties. CarExpert has contacted both brands to see if they plan to improve their coverage.
Most brands currently offer five years in Australia, although some mainstream brands go longer, and some luxury brands go shorter.
Hyundai Australia first moved from its three-year to a five-year warranty in 1999, and has stuck with it since.
Honda, Jeep and Skoda launched five-year warranties in 2017, followed by Ford, Mazda and Volkswagen in 2018. Subaru and Toyota also launched five-year warranty programs early in 2019.
Luxury manufacturers Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Lexus, and Volvo now have five-year warranties.
Mitsubishi is the only manufacturer that currently beats Kia’s seven-year warranty by offering a 10-year/200,000km warranty program.
New Mitsubishi vehicles such as the ASX, Eclipse Cross and Outlander, all receive 10 years of warranty coverage and 10 years of capped-price servicing.
There’s a catch though, as these new Mitsubishi vehicles need to be serviced at a certified Mitsubishi dealer for the 10-year warranty period to count. The warranty period is shortened to five-years/100,000km if you service outside the dealer network.
