Citroen introduces six-year, unlimited kilometre warranty

French brand Citroen has set a new peace-of-mind benchmark by introducing a six-year, unlimited kilometre warranty to cover a number of models in its range.

The warranty, which includes six years of roadside assistance, improves on the five-year warranties from Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Kia, Renault and sister brand Peugeot that still remain above the industry average of three years. The Citroen warranty can be transferred across owners if the car is sold on.

The warranty, however, doesn’t apply to all cars in the brand’s range. It covers all models in the more premium DS line â€" DS3, DS3 Cabriolet, DS4 and DS5 â€" and the new Grand C4 Picasso. But the brand’s more mainstream C3 city car, C4 small car, C5 medium car, C4 AirCross SUV and Berlingo van range is not covered.

Citroen Australia national marketing manager Manuel Tyras says the company conducted extensive research to find out what current customers â€" and potential future buyers â€" wanted from the brand. And the answer, it seems, was trouble-free motoring.

“Our customers have told us that warranty has the greatest influence on our brand,” said Tyras. “So, introducing a six-year warranty and six-year roadside assist was a logical step in showing our commitment to our customers and Australia.”

“To a man, almost, they’ve said, ‘We want a longer warranty,’” he said, acknowledging that French brands have experience a somewhat mottled history in terms of reliability. “Five years makes up a majority of people who would consider our brand. These are the people that we need to target; the ones that are just on the edge of tipping over to buying us.”

Tyras said the company isn’t currently considering adding the rest of its range to the longer warranty program.

“At the moment it’s on these two lines â€" the DS line because it’s our premium range, and the Grand C4 Picasso because it’s family focused â€" and we felt that was important,” he said.

“At the moment we’re not looking at [extending it to cars like the C3 and C4]. But if it’s successful…” he said.

Robin Michelena, PSA Peugeot Citroen delegate for Oceania, said the program may be rolled out to other models at a later date. He said it will be assessed after launch, and a decision will be made on future cars once there has been sufficient evidence collected.

The warranty program kicks off on March 1.