Guide · Warranty
Eight years, 70 per cent — and four brands that name no figure
A measured battery condition answers one question and raises the next. 88 per cent after five years — is that a warranty case? The answer is not in the test report but in the manufacturer’s terms. And in Switzerland those are not the German ones: the importers are separate legal entities. We read them for the fifteen largest brands in the Swiss plug-in market, each one from its own document.
Ten of fourteen say the same thing
Eight years or 160’000 kilometres, whichever comes first, and a guaranteed residual capacity of 70 per cent: those three figures are named by ten of the fifteen brands whose terms we could substantiate — BMW, Volkswagen, Seat/Cupra, Škoda, Volvo, Renault, Kia, Toyota, Porsche and Audi, in part word for word. Fourteen of the fifteen name eight years, twelve name 160’000 kilometres. Leapmotor publishes no warranty terms; the two figures appear in the promotional text of the Swiss site.
| Brand | Years | Kilometres | Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMW | 8 | 160’000 | 70 % |
| Volkswagen | 8 | 160’000 | 70 % |
| Seat / Cupra | 8 | 160’000 | 70 % |
| Škoda | 8 | 160’000 | 70 % |
| Audi | 8 | 160’000 | 70 % |
| Volvo | 8 | 160’000 | 70 % |
| Renault | 8 | 160’000 | 70 % |
| Kia | 8 | 160’000 | 70 % |
| Toyota | 8 | 160’000 | 70 % |
| Porsche | 8 | 160’000 | 80 %, then 70 % |
| Mercedes-Benz | 10 | 250’000 | none |
| BYD | 8 | 250’000 | none |
| Hyundai | 8 | 160’000 | none |
| Tesla | 8 | no limit | excluded |
| Leapmotor | — | — | — |
Three departures upwards: Mercedes-Benz names ten years and 250’000 kilometres for the EQS and EQE, and eight years and 160’000 for the electric GLB, CLA, GLC and G-Class. BYD guarantees 250’000 kilometres. Toyota extends to up to ten years through its Relax programme, provided the car comes in for its annual service at a partner. Porsche guarantees 80 per cent for the first three years and 70 thereafter.
The threshold is the figure that counts
Years and kilometres say how long the warranty runs. Whether it applies is said by the threshold. If usable capacity falls below 70 per cent, that is a warranty case; at 72 it is not — even if the everyday range has become noticeably shorter. Five of the fifteen brands name no threshold: Mercedes-Benz, BYD, Hyundai, Leapmotor and Tesla. For four of them that means the figure is not published. For Tesla it means something else.
A warranty without a capacity threshold applies to a defect. The wear that every battery has does not fall under it.
Tesla excludes wear explicitly
The Swiss version of Tesla’s new vehicle warranty contains the sentence: «The loss of energy or power of the battery over time or as a result of battery use is NOT covered by this Battery and Drive Unit Limited Warranty.» The capitals are from the document. Eight years apply, with no mileage limit — but for defects, not for ageing. The document we read applies to Model S and Model X. For Model 3 and Model Y, which carry the volumes in Switzerland, Tesla has its own terms; we have not substantiated them and therefore name no figure.
Five brands, one document
Volkswagen, Seat, Cupra, Škoda and Audi are imported into Switzerland by AMAG, and their battery warranty sits in the same terms — for Volkswagen and Seat word for word. Together these brands account for 25,3 per cent of plug-in registrations from January to August 2026. Choosing between an ID.4 and an Enyaq is not a choice about the warranty.
The AMAG terms separate two things that stand together elsewhere. The durability warranty covers defects in material and workmanship — for Audi expressly on four components only: cell modules, battery housing, cooling elements and the connectors of the battery modules. It does not cover, in its own words, «any loss of net battery energy content». For that there is a second warranty, and it carries the 70 per cent. What it restores is graded: up to three years or 60’000 kilometres to 78 per cent, up to five years or 100’000 to 74, up to eight years or 160’000 to 70. Whoever falls below the line early gets more back than whoever falls late.
Audi grades by model on top of that. The e-tron GT starts at 80 per cent instead of 78. The Q4 e-tron carries no intermediate steps at all — there only the final step of 70 per cent applies from the start. Same document, different row.
Whoever measures decides
The AMAG terms require an energy content measurement «at a brand service partner». How it is measured is also stated: usable capacity in ampere-hours is determined over a qualified charging stroke and multiplied by the battery’s nominal voltage. A certificate from Aviloo or the TCS is therefore not proof for a warranty claim. It remains an argument on price towards a seller — for the manufacturer its own measurement counts.
The exclusion that touches the charging rule
The warranty lapses among other things if the rules on operation and care were not followed, «in particular the care instructions for charging and the state of charge of the high-voltage battery». That touches a widespread rule of thumb. «Never charge to full» applies to nickel-based cells; cars with a lithium iron phosphate battery should be charged to 100 per cent regularly, and some manufacturers prescribe it. Following the wrong rule means acting against your own car’s manual.
When the eight years start
Not always at first registration. BMW names three moments and lets the earliest count: first registration, including as a demonstrator; handover to the end customer, even without registration; or passing 99 kilometres according to the electronic vehicle data. A demonstrator is therefore older than its registration document says. Kia counts from first registration, Hyundai from first delivery in Switzerland or first registration.
What to do with this when buying
- Work out the end date, not the years. First registration plus eight years, and hold the odometer against the limit. Whichever comes first counts.,Ask about the threshold, not about the warranty. «Eight years of warranty» says nothing about capacity for four of the fourteen brands.,An independent certificate negotiates the price, not the warranty. For a warranty claim the brand partner’s measurement counts.,Read the charging rule for your model. It is in the manual and forms part of the warranty terms.,With a demonstrator, ask for the delivery date. The term may have started before first registration.
Sources: the manufacturers’ warranty terms for Switzerland, each read from its own document and filed with address, date read and the sentence verbatim in batteriegarantie.json ↗. Among them BMW (Schweiz) AG, «Qualitäts-Zertifikat für Hochvoltbatterie_2025-11»; AMAG Import AG, «Allgemeine Garantiebestimmungen» and «Audi Garantie AGB 2026»; Tesla, «New Vehicle Limited Warranty», European version for Switzerland; plus the warranty pages of Škoda, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, BYD, Renault, Kia, Toyota, Porsche and Hyundai. Registration shares: auto-schweiz, plug-in statistics January to August 2026.
On method: the Swiss manufacturer pages were queried, not the German ones — a German warranty term does not apply here. Five brands permit no automated request; their documents were fetched by hand. For Leapmotor the Swiss site carries no warranty page, so there stands no figure rather than an estimated one. Terms change; every row of the file carries its date read.
