Car warranty extensions during Coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic has spread across the globe in a matter of months, with over 4 million confirmed cases in over 187 countries. Countries have enforced lockdown measures to try and curb the infection rate with many of us learning to live by new rules and social distancing.

The global economy has been impacted hugely and the International Monetary Fund has warned the world is likely to face the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s – read more on the BBC website here – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52273988. Although the government here in the UK is helping to support companies with the job retention scheme and small businesses by offering grants, many businesses are facing an uncertain future.

On the flip side however, there are businesses that have seen a boom during the pandemic as consumers seek new ways to cope during the pandemic. Supermarkets have seen a soar in business as restaurants, pubs and cafes are no longer open. Participation in online fitness has increased with many classes swapping to virtual sessions, and if you’re looking to buy a bike you’ll be hard pressed to order one for delivery anytime soon as people make the most of their daily exercise allowance and hit the roads on two wheels rather than four.

Car use has fallen dramatically with people being urged to only leave their homes for essential travel and the knock on effect has impacted the car industry hugely. Car sales have slumped, manufacturers have ceased car production and car sales rooms have been closed.

But as the UK slowly emerges from under lockdown the government has announced new measures to keep people safe at work and car manufacturing firms have been encouraged to get staff back to work. As companies adapt to the new way of working, limited production has resumed amongst many of the manufacturers.

Each company along with the government guidelines have outlined new safety measures to protect their staff, such as limiting the number of staff in the car plants, guidance on wearing PPE within the factories, and running training sessions on social distancing and new safety measures.

During the pandemic many of the plants supported the crisis by producing equipment to help fight the pandemic such as face shields, respirators, and ventilators. As well as supporting those on the frontline companies such as Aston Martin and Audi have also supported their customers by offering changes to their warranties. Cover has been extended for those whose cover expires during the pandemic and will also honour warranties for those who may have missed a service as a result of the lockdown.

Aston Martin announced that all warranties that expired since March 14^th or are due to expire in the following weeks will be extended to 30^th June and for those customers living in China, warranties due to expire after 1^st January will be honoured to reflect the longer lockdown period that was introduced in China. Of course, getting your car serviced during these worrying times is probably not one of our most pressing issues right now but at least customers can be safe in the knowledge that their sports car warranty will still be valid.

You can read more on the Motor1.com website: https://uk.motor1.com/news/414672/aston-martin-warranty-coronavirus-lockdown/