GWM has made a sweeping change to its business strategy in South Africa, rolling out its extended 7-year/200,000km warranty to all its vehicles except one.
This means that almost all GWM and Haval models now offer one of the longest warranties in the country, rivaled only by other Chinese carmakers.
Peace of mind
The new 7-year/200,000km warranty replaces the brand’s previous standard offering of a 5-year/100,000km plan, meaning that the mileage covered has been doubled at no additional cost.
However, it’s worth noting that only a few models are actually affected by this change, as GWM and its subsidiary Haval already provide expanded assurance for their higher-spec vehicles.
The main beneficiaries of the change are the GWM P-Series, Haval H6, and the Haval Jolion City, bearing in mind that the Jolion Pro units already benefit from the 7-year plan.
Likewise, the adjusted policy does not affect Great Wall Motors’ other products, including the Tank 300, Tank 500, P500, Ora 03, and Haval H7, as they already enjoyed the protection from the get-go.
However, while the new warranty may seem to affect a small portion of GWM’s total offerings, it’s worth pointing out that the P-Series, Jolion, and H6 are by far its most popular products, meaning that the value increase to these three badges will affect the greatest number of customers.
All of this is in addition to the separate 8-year/150,000km powertrain warranty that GWM and Haval sell with each purchase of their hybrid and electric vehicles.
The company also states that all of its cars are covered by a 7-year/75,000km service plan, which is more than the 5-year/60,000km plan afforded to units like the H6 at launch.
One vehicle that is unaffected by the more generous coverage is the Steed – a workhorse bakkie primarily aimed at the commercial sector – which should have little to no impact on everyday consumers.
One important aspect of GWM’s new standard warranty is that it is transferable, meaning the coverage is extended to new owners beyond the original buyer.
This is in contrast to the policies employed by Chinese competitors such as Chery, Omoda, Jaecoo, Jetour, and GAC, which all offer lengthy warranties that are only valid for the first owner.
Chery and its spin-offs Omoda, Jaecoo, and Jetour all provide a 10-year/1-million-kilometre engine warranty, and GAC takes it a step further with a lifetime engine warranty.
However, anyone who purchases one of these cars second-hand will not be able to benefit from these policies, but will still be left with the standard general warranty that varies from five to seven years in length, depending on the manufacturer.
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