Kia Motors UK is insisting its radical seven-year warranty is to remain and does not represent a short-term tactical ploy.

Speaking to just-auto in Slovakia as the South Korean manufacturer showcased its new Sportage range, Kia UK head of product planning & marketing programmes Ian Mathews, outlined the reasons for the guarantee’s retention.

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“The seven-year warranty is here to stay – it is good for customers and dealers,” he said. “The warranty is a very strong statement and it eliminates at a stroke what the perception of the cars from South Korea is about.

Mathews also referred to changes made to its warranty offer following a ruling by the UK Advertising Standards Association, following complaints from extended warranty provider Warranty Direct and the public concerning Kia’s print and radio advertising for the guarantee.

“There has been a lot of focus on the warranty offer – we had to make a very small tweak – it was about the terms and conditions and we said terms and exclusions instead,” he said. The phrase ‘terms and exclusions’ was applied for the advertisement for the full duration of the commercial.

Kia’s UK division introduced the seven-year warranty for the Slovakian-built Cee’d model in April 2007 and extended it to its entire range from 1 January this year.

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In addition, ‘approved used vehicles’ sold through its dealer network since April 2009, have been supplied with a warranty equivalent to that when they were new.

“It [warranty] is not a tactical offer, that is not our policy,” said Mathews.”