Mitsubishi seven-year warranty likely to go permanent

Mitsubishi Motors is set extend its factory warranty in Australia from five years to seven years in a bid to reaffirm its market-leading aftersales provisions.

Although it was among the first vehicle brands in Australia to offer a five-year warranty, which is now standard among mainstream car-makers, several marques now offer a seven-year, unlimited-km warranty, including Kia, SsangYong, Haval and MG.

The Japanese car-maker has dabbled with a seven-year scheme in recent months with its popular Triton utility, offering it to buyers who purchase within a promotional window.

At the launch of the MY20 Mitsubishi Triton this week, officials said they were investigating making the fixture permanent in a bid to reaffirm what was once a point of difference for Mitsubishi buyers under the brand’s long-running five-year scheme.

Speaking with carsales, Mitsubishi Australia deputy marketing boss Derek McIlroy said there was scope for Mitsubishi to upgrade its provisions.

“The seven-year warranty will continue, it’s been extended until December 31. We have a lot of faith in our product,” he said of the current promotion, before being asked about the prospect of permanent seven-year coverage.

“That’s still not decided yet,” McIlroy continued.

“At the end of the day we have to assess the risk versus the return. It’s safe to say that we’re studying everything in every area. It’s one of our key projects that we’re working on.

Asked specifically whether Mitsubishi could potentially extend the program beyond Triton during the promotional window, McIlroy said: “we’re studying everything.

“I guess originally Mitsubishi did tend to lead a little bit with our warranty coverage. We’ve probably come back to the pack in that regard,” he said.

“We have a lot of faith in our cars, so it’s something we think we can take an advantage in when the time is right. Again, we’re still studying this at the moment but most of this is an insurance policy in a way.

“You’ve got to actuarially assess the exposure and we wouldn’t be saying this unless at some point, we were able to do something.

“I’m being obtuse for a reason but it’s definitely something as brand that we’re looking at.”

McIlroy revealed Mitsubishi is also revisiting its capped-price servicing provisions for Triton as part of the broader aftersales review. Currently, Triton owners are offered a three-year/45,000km scheme which amounts to $897 – or $299 annually.

“Hopefully sometime soon we’ll be able to share something on that too,” McIlroy said.

Although it remains Australia’s third most popular ute, Triton sales have plateaued in recent months in Australia -- down about seven per cent in market that has languished all year.