- Starting this week, all Cupras, including those who are in stock, get the five-year warranty.
- The new warranty is being launched in the UK and covers both ICE-powered cars and EVs.
- This could help Cupra attract customers when it launches in the U.S. before the end of the decade.
Remember when Skoda was the brand to watch in the VW Group empire? These days it’s Cupra, whose cars are far more interesting to look at than their VW and Skoda counterparts, and costs far less than any Audi-badged equivalents. And now there’s another reason to buy a Cupra: they’ve got the best warranty of any VW Group brand.
Cupra vehicles sold in the UK now come standard with a five-year warranty. Previously, Cupra models came with a three-year, 60,000-mile (100,000 km) warranty, although buyers could pay to extend it to four years and 75,000 miles (120,000 km) or five years and 90,000 miles (145,000 km). But from this week, all Cupras – including those already built and in stock – get two years’ unlimited mileage cover, plus three additional years of cover providing the mileage doesn’t exceed 90k miles.
No other brand in the VW Group empire offers such generous cover, though you can bet that the likes of Skoda, which is meant to be the sensible, practical, value brother in the VW family, will be feeling the pressure to match Cupra’s package. The new warranty initiative isn’t Europe-wide, but is being launched in Britain at the urging of Cupra’s new UK boss, Marcus Gossen, and covers both the brand’s ICE-powered and electric cars.
Related: Do You Think Cupra Will Succeed In America?
Though Cupra’s warranty looks generous in the context of VW Group products, other cars on sale in the UK from non-VW brands do offer similar or greater protection. Hyundai, Genesis and Ora all offer five-year, unlimited mileage warranties, BYD gives buyers six years of peace of mind and MG, Kia and Suzuki all come with seven years’ cover. Peugeot, Toyota and Lexus can be had with up to 10 years of security (eight in Peugeot’s case), but all three require you to have your car serviced at a franchised dealer every year, while the other brands’ warranties don’t.
Generous warranty coverage could be one way Cupra will carve a foothold in the U.S. market when it launches in North America sometime before the end of this decade. Cupra announced last month that it would start its expansion to the U.S. with an electric version of the next generation Formentor crossover plus a bigger electric SUV.