Car Brands’ Responses to ECQ (Philippines)

One of the biggest investments you will ever make in your lifetime is buying a brand-new car. New car ownership comes along with specific obligations from every customer like maintenance and loan payments.

Car brands will obligate you to bring back your vehicle to their dealerships at fixed intervals for Preventive Maintenance Service (PMS). Whether it’s every six months or 10,000 kilometers, you will have to let them service your brand-new car regularly so that the dealership can ascertain that it is working within its normal parameters and more importantly, so you can avail of their warranty in case a component, or the car itself, suffers a breakdown. This usually lasts for about three to five years, depending on the brand.

Car loan payments are likewise structured by banks or financial institutions for you to repay the money you borrowed to purchase a car. This is of course based on your monthly salary over an agreed period.  

But during this ongoing Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) period (this article has been updated as of May 16, 2020 when the Modified ECQ has already started for many parts of the country, including NCR), there is just no way for you to bring your car to a dealership to get it serviced. And worse, with regular income in question, paying for your monthly amortization is a dilemma.

How have the different car brands responded to this crisis? As a hub for all car brands, we at Carousell Autos want to give you the information you need to make the right choices that will benefit you the most. We’ve rounded up 14 mainstream auto manufacturers’ responses to their customers’ ECQ woes. Let’s see how your chosen brand intends to make new car ownership less stressful during this time of crisis. You may check out the links to their official announcements at the end of this article.

Preventive Maintenance Service Grace Period

Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Isuzu, Subaru, SsangYong and MG, have all announced a 30-day grace period for customers whose cars have PMS due dates during the quarantine period.

Notably, Suzuki is extending PMS scheduling of affected cars for three months. While Kia cars will enjoy the 30-day PMS extension after the ECQ period ends. Chevrolet on the other hand, is asking its customers to schedule their cars for PMS this April 2020. However, Ford, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen did not mention any grace period for PMS rescheduling.

Warranty Coverage Extension

Ford, Honda, Isuzu, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota vehicles with warranty coverages set to lapse during the ECQ period will get a 30-day reprieve.  Suzuki went the extra mile by extending warranty coverage of its vehicles for 3 months if they are scheduled to lapse during the ECQ.

Meanwhile, Chevrolet will provide a 2-month extension for warranties set to expire within the quarantine period.  Kia vehicles will get an extra 15-day grace period after the lifting of the ECQ for their warranties that are supposed to lapse during this lockdown month.

Mazda, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, SsangYong and Volkswagen did not provide a warranty extension to its cars which are due to expire within the ECQ timeframe.

Updates:

• Hyundai just announced that they’re extending the warranty coverage until May 31, 2020.
• Since the ECQ was extended, some car brands already made new announcements. Please see table and summary at the end of the post.

Deferred Payments

New car ownership has been driven by auto loans from various banks and financing institutions. And part of car ownership is paying off these loans on a monthly basis.

Chevrolet, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Toyota have taken the extra step of informing their customers who availed of these loans that they will be granted a 30-day extension in paying off their monthly amortizations. The other brands we have mentioned previously are leaving it to their customers to directly coordinate with their respective banks to confirm their revised payment schedules.

Summary

For your quick reference, check out the table below which sums up how the different car brands are helping out their customers during the ECQ:

(Updated as of May 16, 2020 – see more details at the end of this post)

NOTE: Highlighted in yellow are the updates from car brands after the MECQ was implemented for NCR starting May 16, 2020.

We also rounded up the links to the car manufacturers’ official announcements below:

• Honda Cars announcement on extended PMS & warranty
• Isuzu’s announcement on their 30-day extension
• Mazda’s 30-day grace period for customers with free 3-year PMS coverage
• Nissan’s 30-day extension for warranty coverage and PMS
• Nissan’s announcement of 30-day extension of payment deadlines for eligible Nissan Finance customers, in partnership with EastWest Bank
• SsangYong’s 30-day extension of their free PMS window
• Toyota’s 30-day extension for PMS and warranty
• Toyota Financial Services 30-day payment extension – updated policy here
• Suzuki’s 3-month Special Warranty Extension
• Suzuki’s 30-day extension for auto loan qualified customers from various banks
• Ford’s 1-month warranty coverage extension
• Subaru’s 30-day extension for PMS and warranties
• Chevrolet’s announcement on PMS extension and warranty coverage
• Chevrolet’s announcement on payment extension for auto loan customers with different banks
• Mitsubishi’s extension for payment deadlines
• Kia’s 30-day extension for warranty coverage and 15-day extension for PMS
• MG Philippines’ announcement of PMS schedule extension
• Hyundai’s announcement of warranty coverage extension

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Updates as of April 8, 2020

Now that the Enhanced Community Quarantine has been extended to April 30, 2020, expect another round of statements to come soon from these brands. Toyota is the first brand to announce that it will still honor the 30-day PMS extension past the end of April. It also extended  the coverage period for loan payment deferments from its in-house Toyota Financial Services up to April 30, 2020. That means a further reprieve for TFS loan payments until May 30th. 

Meanwhile, Hyundai recently announced that it will now offer a 30-day extension for the Warranty coverage of its vehicles with warranties set to expire during the ECQ. 

Volkswagen and Kia, both Ayala-managed brands, also announced that cars sold by their dealerships will have the benefit of 24/7 roadside support during the ECQ period. Specifically, all Volkswagen models sold from December 1, 2015 and Kia vehicles sold from March 1, 2016 are now entitled to avail of Emergency Roadside Assistance during the ECQ upon vehicle registration. Volkswagen even extended this benefit  for its customers up to 30-days after the ECQ is lifted.

Here are links to their latest announcements, latest at the bottom:

• Toyota’s announcement of 30-day extension for warranty coverage, PMS, auto loan payments and Toyota Insure
• Volkswagen offering Emergency Roadside Assistance during and 30 days after ECQ

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Updates as of April 16, 2020

Since the official announcement of the ECQ extension, car brands have made new announcements. Please see links below.

• Mazda announced 30-day extension on PMS and warranty coverages after ECQ is lifted
• Toyota announced 30-day warranty extension until June 30, 2020 and 30-day PMS extension after the ECQ is officially lifted
• Isuzu’s announcement of extension for warranties and PMS until May 31, 2020
• Honda gives 1-month extension for warranties and PMS after the ECQ has been lifted

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Updates as of April 25, 2020

The ECQ has been extended for another 15 days, until May 15, 2020. Since the ECQ has been extended more than once already, most car brands already announced extensions will apply after the ECQ has been officially lifted. Here are some of the latest announcements from car brands that we added to the list on top:

• Ford advised their vehicle owners to visit their dealers after the ECQ is lifted regarding their expired warranties – No word how long they’re extending the coverage.
• MG Philippines announced that PMS is extended until June 30, 2020
• Nissan announced that payment due dates have been extended, and they’ll resume after ECQ has been lifted – only 1 amortization per month will be paid
• Nissan announced PMS and warranty coverage extensions until May 31, 2020
• Chevrolet offered a 30-day extension for PMS and 60 days for vehicle warranties

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Updates as of May 16, 2020

Many parts of the country, including NCR, have implemented Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine or MECQ. In line with this, many car brands already announced adjustments to their warranty, PMS coverage and car loan payment extensions. Below are some of the latest announcements. Stay tuned for our upcoming article on how car brands in the country are planning to operate in the “new normal”.

• Isuzu’s announcement on PMS schedule extension after ECQ has been lifted
• Mazda’s reminder that warranty coverage and PMS is extended 30 days after ECQ is lifted
• Toyota’s announcement of 60-day extension for PMS and warranty coverages
• Toyota’s payment guidelines for car owners in GCQ and MECQ areas
• Volkswagen’s announcement on 3-month extension for warranty coverages expiring between March 1 to May 31, 2020
• Mitsubishi’s announcement of automatic payment extension for car loan payments – you need to call your respective banks for more details

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Suffice it to say, each brand has its own personality when reaching out to its customers. Some have been proactive with early statements, while others chose to bide their time to understand the situation better. With talk about the ongoing Extended Community Quarantine being possibly extended, expect another round of statements to come soon from these brands. Meanwhile, we do hope you and your car are in good spirits despite the lack of mobility. This is the best time to check, clean and prepare your vehicle for the next long drive ahead.

Administrator