Volvo Counting on New Warranty to Lift Sales

While Ford Motor Company is shopping for a buyer for Volvo, the import brand has just introduced a short-term enhancement to its warranty and maintenance plan, according to Automotive News.

For the first time, Volvo's executives will now cover wear and tear items just like BMW. Unlike BMW, the warranty coverage will extend from 4 years/50,000 miles to 5 years/60,000 miles. The import brand's newly enhanced warranty coverage includes brake pads and rotors and windshield wiper inserts. The program will also give owners five years of roadside assistance. The program, which only covers 2009 models, is expected to end in July.

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If the temporary marketing program helps to reverse Volvo's new-car sales decline, which has fallen by 41 percent year-to-date when compared to the same time period last year, the automaker could possibly extend the program offering to the 2010 models. And like Volvo, Ford Motor Company has just introduced a new marketing tool designed to enhance the automotive company sales silde. For the first three months of ownership, the automaker has agreed to cover payments for all of its customers purcahsing a new Ford, Mercury or Lincoln.