Skoda offers five-year warranty

Skoda has increased its warranty coverage period in an attempt to improve its long-term ownership credentials.

The Czech-based sister brand to Volkswagen has announced it has extended its warranty period for all new cars sold from January 2017 to five years/unlimited kilometres on private, fleet and government vehicle sales and five years or 150,000km (whichever occurs first) on vehicles purchased for commercial use.

Although Skoda sold more vehicles last year than ever before, it has generally struggled to gain popularity in the Australian market against rival European brands despite critical acclaim, including its flagship Superb wagon winning Drive's Best Family Car category in the 2016 Car of the Year awards. 

The extended warranty is another step in repairing its poor resale values while offering greater peace of mind for owners, along with other schemes such as capped price servicing and guaranteed future value financing.

Skoda has previously offered a standard three-year warranty with an extended two-year period available as a cost option, which it admits was popular among new customers and was a catalyst for the move to a five-year period.

"Given that some 50 per cent of our customers were going for the optional extended warranty, it was logical that we add it to all models," said Skoda Australia's Managing Director, Michael Irmer.

Skoda is setting itself up for a busy year of product roll outs, including a fully refreshed lineup of Octavia models and the arrival of its first genuine SUV, the seven-seat Kodiaq.

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