5:17 pm, September 23, 2011
FORD has not ruled out increasing the length of its car warranties to five years, revealed the firm’s UK MD.
With rivals such as Vauxhall moving to a lifetime warranty and Korean firms Kia and Hyundai offering seven and five years respectively, Ford is in danger of being left behind.
However, Mark Ovenden, Ford of Britain’s new boss, told Car Dealer that although it’s been looked at no firm plans have been made.
‘There are as many manufacturers out there on or about the same as we are with warranty coverage as there are that are above it,’ he said in an interview at the Frankfurt motor show.
‘I’m not going to talk about the Vauxhall warranty, but there has been plenty written about how it exactly it works. We will continue to monitor the market and make a decision when we have to.
‘It has not be ruled out – we would be foolish to do that – but at the moment it is not something that is imminent either.’
There have been rumours circulating in the motor trade that the Blue Oval was due to increase its warranty coverage soon. With many rivals offering motorists longer periods of cover it seems only a matter of time before Ford is forced to act.
Ovenden added: ‘If you look at sales of Kia and Hyundai, it’s clear warranties are getting longer and are attractive. It is something we are continually looking at, but at the moment we think a three year warranty is competitive.’
