VW pares back best new car warranty

Volkswagen’s “People First” warranty is in for a change-up.

Automotive News (subscription required) reported Monday that VW will scale back its 6-year/72,000-mile warranty in favor of a 4-year/50,000-mile warranty. Each new VW purchase or lease will come with two years of free scheduled maintenance as well. According to the report, the warranty shuffle is because VW found that few buyers were purchasing cars because of the long warranty.

2019 Volkswagen Jetta GLI

The German brand launched the industry-best car warranty in 2017 as it emerged from its diesel-emissions scandal. It rolled out with the Atlas crossover and eventually spread to every new VW vehicle on sale. The warranty change to 4 years/50,000 miles goes into effect with all 2020 model year vehicles. Duncan Movassaghi, senior vice president of sales and marketing with VW North America said the shift also helps dealerships. The two-year scheduled maintenance will be paid to VW service centers at a full warranty rate.

2020 Volkswagen Passat, 2019 Detroit auto show

The marketing executive added that despite national advertising for the industry-best warranty, most buyers only learned about the feature when they visited a dealership.

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