China-market premium EVs abroad: warranty, repairs, software and apps (2026)

CRAVEUO EV Export · Sources last checked 2026-10-31 · General information, not legal advice. Nothing here is a promise or a quote.

Quick answer

Plan as if the maker's warranty stops at the Chinese border. The China terms are written for the China market, and NIO's say so outright. For an export car, the warranty terms are in your contract with the exporter, and we send them in writing before you pay. CRAVEUO does not promise a maker's warranty abroad. On language, OTA, driver assistance and apps, makers publish almost nothing about China-market cars abroad. Get each answer in writing for your exact version.

First: which car are you buying?

Most answers depend on this. The same model name can be two different cars.

Find out whether your brand has an official channel in your country in our table of official dealers. This guide covers the right-hand column. For model status, see the buyer's guide.

China warranty by brand

These are the terms for cars sold in China, read on brand sites on 2026-10-31. They are not cover you get abroad. A "—" means we could not open an official page with the figures, so we leave it empty and don't copy forums or sales posts. "No wording found" means the page we read names no region. That is not a promise of cover abroad.

Reading the table:

• "Lifetime" belongs to a person. NIO's terms end when the car changes owner, and Lynk & Co lists a change of owner as ending its lifetime cover. Denza and Yangwang limit theirs to the first owner in private use. An exported car usually doesn't fit these conditions, and a nearly-new car has already changed owner.
• NIO has two official pages. The owner notice gives 6 years or 150,000 km, and 10 years for the battery and drive system. The after-sales commitment still shows 36 months or 120,000 km, and 96 months or 120,000 km. Its notice says the latest published version governs.
• NIO's rented battery is outside this cover. The owner notice excludes the battery from that warranty if you chose the rental plan.
• Li Auto's manual sets a limit on battery wear: capacity loss of no more than 25% across the 8 years or 160,000 km. Li Auto's newer model pages send you to the warranty booklet in the car, so check the model.
• Terms change by model year and by offer. The Avatr row comes from an offer page that runs to 2026-11-30.

Who repairs it

We don't run workshops, and CRAVEUO is not a dealer and does not provide after-sales service. That leaves two options:

• The brand's official dealer in your country. Whether it services a China-market car is up to the dealer. Ask before you pay, and give it the VIN or the exact version.
• An independent workshop. Find one near you that works on electric cars before you pay, and ask whether it can read this car's faults.

Li Auto is one to watch. Jiemian reports that it wants to bring grey-market cars into its official network, with warranties and OTA updates. We found no published terms, so don't count on it for your car.

For a car registered 180 days or less before export, China now asks the maker for an after-sales letter naming the destination country and the service points. The same notice tells exporters, makers and overseas importers to work together on parts and technical support. Those are duties between companies and the authorities. They are not a warranty you can claim, but if your car has a letter, ask for a copy.

Language, OTA, driver assistance and apps

China-market cars come with China-market software; languages and online services vary. We looked for official statements and reliable tests for all 15 brands. Here is everything we found.

One useful case: a Zeekr notice of 26 July 2026, as reported, says owners on long self-drive trips abroad met limits on some infotainment functions, and that a code in the Zeekr app clears them. It covers owners travelling, not exported cars, but it shows that software can react to where a car is. Ask the exporter how your car behaves outside China.

Xiaomi cars need a separate note. Xiaomi has not authorised any exporter, so a new car has no legal route from China, and it has taken legal action in Germany against imports, as reported. See our Xiaomi guide and the UAE guide.

NIO: battery swap and BaaS

An exported car can't use NIO's battery-swap service abroad; it charges at public chargers or a home charger. Battery rental (BaaS) only works in China. An export car comes with the battery bought, and the quote is for the full car including the battery. NIO sells through official channels in some countries, so check the dealer table first.

Spare parts: what you can do

We have not checked parts supply in every country, and we won't guess. Before you pay:

1. Ask the official dealer or importer, if there is one, whether it sells parts against a China-market VIN.
2. Ask your workshop which parts it would need to order, and from where, for the faults it sees most on electric cars.
3. Ask us whether our parts service covers your model. For some models it can quote parts shipped from China.
4. Keep the Chinese warranty booklet, the manual and the VIN record. A workshop may need them to identify parts.

Questions to get answered in writing

Send these with your version before you sign. If an answer is "unknown", treat it as no.

• What warranty does the contract give, who gives it, and for how long?
• What menu languages does this car have today?
• Does the car take OTA updates outside China? Who confirms that?
• Which assistance features work in my country?
• Can I register the phone app in my country?

How to buy a car from China covers the rest of the process.

Send your country, model and version through the inquiry form. We tell you whether we can supply that car before any contract. Nothing is paid before it is signed, and payment goes only to the company account on the invoice.