Vauxhall vies for sales fast lane with lifetime warranty

VAUXHALL yesterday opened up a new front in the post-scrappage scheme car-sales war by becoming the first manufacturer to offer lifetime warranties on all new models.

The move, which applies only to original owners, came as new car registrations plunged across the UK last month for the first time in a year. The total was down by 13.2 per cent compared with July last year, with Scotland's decline accelerating to 9.5 per cent from 6 per cent in June.

Vauxhall described its warranty offer as "unique and unprecedented", and said it would cover models up to 100,000 miles.

Owners will need to visit a Vauxhall dealer each year for a free vehicle inspection.

Managing director Duncan Aldred said a further scheme enabling second owners to buy the same cover would follow.

He said: "We are making a statement of confidence in the quality of our products and a clear intent to provide the very best customer service in the UK."

The announcement comes days after Ford slashed the list price of its small and medium- sized models by nearly 15 per cent.

Vauxhall has already responded to a similar price cut among larger Ford cars by introducing new cheaper, bottom-end models across its range with pared-down equipment levels.

The fall in new-car registrations last month comes in the wake of the end of the scrappage scheme, under which owners of cars at least ten years old received a joint government-motor industry handout of 2,000 to trade them in for new models.

Scottish Motor Trade Association chief executive Douglas Robertson said: "We are obviously disappointed to see a further downturn in new vehicle registrations for July. However, we should remember that these figures are being compared with a period last year when the scrappage scheme was in full swing, so they are not unexpected.

"Scotland has always tended to have a higher percentage of private sales than the rest of the UK, so with low consumer confidence and the economy still in the very early stages of recovery, I would anticipate the remainder of 2010 being a challenge for our dealers.

"Nevertheless, I am confident that they will react to this and that the deals they have to offer will attract prospective buyers into their showrooms," Mr Robertson added.

The UK-wide Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which compiled the figures, said it expected 2010 sales to reach just under 2.02 million — a 1.2 per cent rise on last year.

Diesel cars took a record 50.6 per cent share of the market last month, while sales of alternatively-fuelled vehicles such as electric cars were up by more than half, giving them a 1.4 per cent market share.