Renault moves to five-year warranty

The underachieving French brand is finally getting some traction with a new value-driven strategy and a giant marketing push Down Under, and now joins Kia, Hyundai, Nissan and Mitsubishi in the five-year support  team.

The warranty includes five years of roadside assistance and is being backdated to April 1 as Renault works to give potential buyers the safety net they need to join the brand.

"This is something that's going to demonstrate great confidence in the brand and commitment to Australia. It also enhances our value-added proposition," says the managing director of Renault Australia, Justin Hocevar.

"This is a first for a European brand. It helps us demonstrate confidence. If we've got a bit of an edge, then that's a good thing."

Renault is also opening its own finance division in partnership with its backroom partner in Australia, and the other half of its global alliance, Nissan.

"Renault just hasn't been on people's shopping list. That's really going to make it much easier to put an attractive proposition to customers," says Hocevar. "We're about bringing value to the brand, rather than discounting."

He says sales this year have been promising after a major attack at the Australian Grand Prix, including the launch of a special-edition Megane RS 250. Sales of the Megane have also improved massively since a new model with better pricing, and now the arrival of the Latitude sedan to take over from the unloved Laguna at the top end.

"In March we had 259 sales versus 160 last year. Year-to-date we're up ... everything is at unprecedented levels. It's all going very well. We've got a long way to go, but we're moving in the right direction and doing the right things," says Hocevar.