Volkswagen has announced it will extend by three months some warranties expiring between March 1 and May 31 this year.
This warranty extension is applicable worldwide, but only applies to passenger vehicles built in Europe – which means Amarok (Argentina) and Polo (South Africa) models sold to Australians in 2017, as well as the Crafter, Caddy and Transporter commercial vehicles, are excluded.
Although Volkswagen Australia moved to a five-year warranty in 2019, vehicles sold between March 1 and May 31 2017 had three years of coverage – which means those warranties are expiring.
A VW Australia spokesperson said: “Our approach is that we’ll continue to exercise flexibility and fairness regardless of COVID-19, as per our usual practice and our [Australian consumer law] undertaking”.
The warranty extension program applies to all Volkswagen vehicles sold in Europe.
“As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, numerous of our authorised workshops throughout the world remain closed,” said Jürgen Stackmann, head of sales and marketing for the Volkswagen brand.
“For many of our customers, it has therefore not been possible to make claims under their warranties in good time.”
“We are pleased to be able to offer our customers an immediate, unbureaucratic solution with this three-month warranty prolongation.”
Volkswagen says the move is a “voluntary, one-off concession to help customers in the exceptional situation caused by COVID-19”.
Earlier this month Hyundai also extended warranties by three months if they were expiring between March 1 and May 31 this year.
Lockdown orders issued by governments across the world to help slow the spread of the novel Coronavirus have forced automakers to suspend production, and slowed vehicle sales to a trickle.
In addition to furloughing staff, some car makers are using their facilities to produce masks, shields, ventilators and other medical equipment.
