Kia Australia says it’s not looking to extend its factory warranty beyond seven years, regardless of the increasing number of other auto brands – including its own sister brand Hyundai – now offering aftersales coverage for the same period or longer.
Speaking with CarExpert at the Australian launch of the facelifted Sportage SUV, the company’s general manager for product Roland Rivero said the Korean brand’s once-benchmark warranty is no longer a key reason for purchase for its customers, and therefore it’s focusing on other areas.
“I think we were very fortunate when we did launch [that] very definitive seven-year warranty… with how much clear air time we had before other OEMs [automakers] introduced theirs. That did a great job for our brand. It gave people permission to look at a Kia product, and for that point in time and where the brand was at, it was required,” Mr Rivero said.
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“Where the brand is at now, the warranty component is not so much the driver of what makes customers walk into our showroom. We’re quite happy with where it is at the moment – the same as what we launched back in October 2014 – and there are no plans that I’m aware of to change or go any higher.
“I think that component of reason for purchase, which was once probably number one, isn’t quite number one anymore. It’s slipped further down, and more of a closing component, as opposed to the main reason to attract customers into the Kia brand,” Mr Rivero added.
Kia Australia was the first brand in Australia to offer a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre new-vehicle warranty, which commenced on October 1, 2014. Unlike many brands at the time that stipulated conditions around roadside assistance, capped-price servicing or mileage, Kia’s comprehensive cover also included roadside assistance and capped price servicing for the same period.
Before that, Hyundai Australia pioneered the five-year warranty back in 2007. Kia followed suit in 2008, at a time when the warranties of most brands didn’t extend past three years or 150,000km, at best.
On July 1, 2025, Korean compatriot Hyundai Australia will move to a similar seven-year/unlimited-km warranty, which will be backdated to all new vehicles registered from January 1, 2025.
The introduction of a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty brings Hyundai in line with sister brand Kia, as well as Chery and Skoda, which is the only European brand backing its vehicles with seven years of coverage.
Nissan Australia moved to a conditional 10-year/300,000km warranty earlier this year – contingent on vehicles behind serviced within the brand’s dealer network over that time – matching Alliance partner Mitsubishi’s similar program (albeit limited to 200,000km).
MG Motor Australia covers all of its vehicles with a 10-year/250,000km warranty with no servicing requirement to extend the coverage to a decade – though it’s only for private buyers who don’t use their vehicles for commercial purposes. Business customers receive a seven-year/160,000km warranty.
MORE: Hyundai Australia launching seven-year warranty to match Kia, Chery