Hong Kong BYD car owners won’t void battery warranty by using other firms, watchdog says

Electric-vehicle maker BYD has made it clear buyers are free to choose other service providers to repair and maintain their cars without the risk of losing their lifetime battery warranty, Hong Kong’s competition watchdog has said after raising concerns about the issue.

The Competition Commission said on Thursday that BYD, one of the city’s bestselling EV brands, had clarified that non-authorised service providers could carry out maintenance and repairs on its vehicles including the traction battery without invalidating relevant warranties, unless damage to the battery was directly caused by such services. The traction battery powers an electric vehicle.

“BYD’s amendments will facilitate greater competition among car maintenance and repair service providers, by clearly indicating that BYD car owners have the freedom to choose non-authorised service providers without automatically voiding their warranties,” the commission said.

“This ensures that consumer choice is uninhibited, and may result in lower maintenance and repair costs for BYD car owners.”

The commission said the terms and conditions related to the lifetime warranty of the traction battery in BYD’s warranty manual were “ambiguous” and could mislead car owners into believing all maintenance and repairs must be performed at authorised service providers to maintain warranty coverage.

The watchdog said the firm – mainland China’s top EV manufacturer – made the changes following the commission raising concerns, adding that BYD was “fully cooperative” in addressing them.