Hyundai Australia is set to match sister brand Kia with a permanent seven-year warranty as soon as July 1, Drive understands, with the scheme to be backdated to cover vehicles purchased after January 1, 2025.
South Korean car giant Hyundai is poised to introduce a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre new-car warranty in Australia, matching the successful and popular coverage of sister brand, Kia.
Hyundai has not confirmed the move – 26 years after it became the first new-car brand to roll out five years of permanent coverage – and General Manager of Public Relations, Bill Thomas, declined to comment when asked by Drive.
However, Drive understands the announcement will be made in the coming weeks, following information shared with dealers.
It is believed the seven-year Hyundai warranty won't just apply to vehicles purchased after July 1, 2025, but instead cover any new example purchased since January 1, 2025.
Hyundai has previously offered seven-year warranties through limited-time promotions, but has never previously made the longer coverage permanent.
Kia set the standard for the Australian new car market with the announcement of a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty in 2014, a program that has proven popular with buyers looking for the security that comes with a longer warranty period.
For many customers, it is a key reason for choosing a Kia over a Hyundai, with the former acknowledging "it's number three or number four in importance when they [customers] purchase a Kia."
While a five-year warranty became the industry standard a few years ago, seven years won’t be industry-leading in 2025.
Nissan and Mitsubishi currently offer 10-year warranties on new cars, but with a caveat that the vehicles must be serviced at authorised dealers for the vehicle's entire first decade to unlock the full duration.
Across the decade, Nissan’s coverage runs to 300,000km, while Mitsubishi’s runs to 200,000km.
However, if customers service the vehicle just once outside the dealer network within the first 10 years, the warranties drop to five years/unlimited kilometres and five years/100,000km respectively.
MG Australia now offers a 10-year/250,000km warranty on all its new vehicles in our local market, without the dealer servicing clause.
With Hyundai currently trailing Kia in the Australian new car sales race, the move to a longer warranty may be a factor that can close, or indeed overcome the gap between the two South Korean manufacturers, who have grown rapidly in the Australian new-car market.
Drive will report further details relating to Hyundai’s move to seven years/unlimited kilometres when the announcement is made officially.
Trent Nikolic has been road testing and writing about cars for almost 20 years. He’s been at CarAdvice/Drive since 2014 and has been a motoring editor at the NRMA, Overlander 4WD Magazine, Hot4s and Auto Salon Magazine.
