Nissan plots Infiniti reboot
#1
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Infiniti could be Nissan-Plus rather than bespoke..
https://www.autonews.com/automakers-...ot-cap-revival
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/06/01/...us-for-future/
https://www.autonews.com/automakers-...ot-cap-revival
Sales at Infiniti in 2019 were down in the dumps. While the market as a whole fell 1.2%, Infiniti brand sales were down 21%. Nissan wasn’t too far behind, with its sales sliding 9.9% year-to-year. None of those numbers look great, but Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta still sees a path forward for Nissan’s luxury brand, Infiniti.
“We will bring back Infiniti as Nissan-plus, in terms of product and technology," Gupta told Automotive News. “Infiniti will be great again.”
Historically-speaking, Infiniti has been “Nissan-plus” for a long time over the years. Many vehicles in its lineup have been re-skinned versions of Nissans with some luxury thrown into the mix, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There have been some standouts, namely the original Q45 with its pioneering active suspension and shockingly sporty dynamics. And then there are the G coupes and sedans, vehicles that are still desirable to enthusiasts today.
Infiniti’s current enthusiast offerings revolve around the Q50 sedan and Q60 coupe, both of which are rear-wheel-drive (or all-wheel-drive) cars with sporting intentions. There’s no equivalent Nissan sold in America, but the Q50 is the Nissan Skyline in Japan. It’s impossible to know what the fate of these rear-drive-based cars will be, but a few possibilities lie ahead. Infiniti could really lean in to the “Nissan-plus” nomenclature and repurpose the new Altima as an Infiniti sedan. More likely, however, is a move to electrification. The Nissan IMs Concept and Infiniti Q Inspiration Concept both suggest that the company is interested in creating electric sedans. A “Nissan-plus” electric sedan sure sounds a whole lot better than a front-drive-based rebadged Nissan.
Infiniti’s biggest problem at this second is the lack of new product on the market. Its QX50 crossover is the most recent big redesign we’ve been witness to, but it needed replacements yesterday for the QX60, Q50 and Q60 to be competitive with others in those segments. Both Lexus and Acura are outpacing Infiniti by a wide margin. The path forward as “Nissan-plus” also suggests Infiniti aims to be a premium brand, rather than a full-fledged luxury brand competing toe-to-toe with Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. That’s consistent with how the brand’s cars have stacked up in recent years, even as it collaborated with Mercedes to put an Infiniti badge on the GLA crossover.
Automotive News’ story goes on to explore the mistakes and huge push made in the Ghosn era, with aims of 500,000 global Infiniti sales. Infiniti never came close to that number, with the high mark being 249,000 vehicles in 2018. The company found some success in reworked Nissan products before, but that means the vehicles are dependent on Nissan putting out desirable cars with a performance mindset. We sincerely hope that Infiniti can somehow claw its way back to being an affordable and fun BMW alternative, but the wait is still on. Automotive News suggests that we won’t see the new products start dropping until about 2023, which is a long time to hold out for a lineup of cars that are already long in the tooth.
“We will bring back Infiniti as Nissan-plus, in terms of product and technology," Gupta told Automotive News. “Infiniti will be great again.”
Historically-speaking, Infiniti has been “Nissan-plus” for a long time over the years. Many vehicles in its lineup have been re-skinned versions of Nissans with some luxury thrown into the mix, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There have been some standouts, namely the original Q45 with its pioneering active suspension and shockingly sporty dynamics. And then there are the G coupes and sedans, vehicles that are still desirable to enthusiasts today.
Infiniti’s current enthusiast offerings revolve around the Q50 sedan and Q60 coupe, both of which are rear-wheel-drive (or all-wheel-drive) cars with sporting intentions. There’s no equivalent Nissan sold in America, but the Q50 is the Nissan Skyline in Japan. It’s impossible to know what the fate of these rear-drive-based cars will be, but a few possibilities lie ahead. Infiniti could really lean in to the “Nissan-plus” nomenclature and repurpose the new Altima as an Infiniti sedan. More likely, however, is a move to electrification. The Nissan IMs Concept and Infiniti Q Inspiration Concept both suggest that the company is interested in creating electric sedans. A “Nissan-plus” electric sedan sure sounds a whole lot better than a front-drive-based rebadged Nissan.
Infiniti’s biggest problem at this second is the lack of new product on the market. Its QX50 crossover is the most recent big redesign we’ve been witness to, but it needed replacements yesterday for the QX60, Q50 and Q60 to be competitive with others in those segments. Both Lexus and Acura are outpacing Infiniti by a wide margin. The path forward as “Nissan-plus” also suggests Infiniti aims to be a premium brand, rather than a full-fledged luxury brand competing toe-to-toe with Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. That’s consistent with how the brand’s cars have stacked up in recent years, even as it collaborated with Mercedes to put an Infiniti badge on the GLA crossover.
Automotive News’ story goes on to explore the mistakes and huge push made in the Ghosn era, with aims of 500,000 global Infiniti sales. Infiniti never came close to that number, with the high mark being 249,000 vehicles in 2018. The company found some success in reworked Nissan products before, but that means the vehicles are dependent on Nissan putting out desirable cars with a performance mindset. We sincerely hope that Infiniti can somehow claw its way back to being an affordable and fun BMW alternative, but the wait is still on. Automotive News suggests that we won’t see the new products start dropping until about 2023, which is a long time to hold out for a lineup of cars that are already long in the tooth.
#2
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“We will bring back Infiniti as Nissan-plus, in terms of product and technology,"
#3
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They messed up over promising and not delivering. No Eau Rogue, No Black S. If they had released those we wouldn't be having this conversation. They are a complete failure of a company.
#4
Lexus Test Driver
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Infiniti had nice run from 2003 to 2012 or so.
Great new products- G35, FX, M35/45 etc. All the follow up models were way softer and lost the feeling that made original ones unique. Been downhill ever since...
Great new products- G35, FX, M35/45 etc. All the follow up models were way softer and lost the feeling that made original ones unique. Been downhill ever since...
#5
Speaks French in Russian
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IMO, it's not a good look when your own COO calls the company Nissan Plus. All those years trying to create a brand just to be referred to as a plus brand. Terrible.
#6
Lexus Test Driver
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The renaming of everything didn't help. In fact, it seems much of their problems went downhill fast the second that happened.
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#10
Pole Position
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back in the day when g35 coupe came out, it was a beautiful car. Factory exhaust note was exotic too. I used to have a maxima those days and almost bought that car.
#12
Pole Position
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I'd think Nissan would do two Lexus quality vehicles for Infiniti, as dropping a whole make & then yrs later trying to make a go at it again is pretty much a fail.....Its another thing to drop your luxury brand & put your time/money into your basic product to massively improve it. Nissan did have the cool 510's, 240's & the so called 4 dr sports cars Maxima's.....
#13
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Reboot step number one - get rid of the BS de Nysschen’s model name change. Most consumers actually knew what G35, M35, FX35, etc... were. Now? Not so much.... The FX35 we had for few years was a heck of a CUV.
#14
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I've had two Q45's and loved them. They were not Lexus quality, but a great car nonetheless. The warranty you can purchase through Infiniti even if you buy from a private party is amazing (I'm in CA, so we can't buy a warranty like most can in other states). A buddy of mine recently bought a used QX70 and loves it. I drove it and the handling for an SUV is amazing. Their current lineup is dated. I hope to see them come back strong.
#15
Pole Position
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This is a total fail, if Nissan can't get Infiniti figured out....Dropping Infiniti name for a Nissan Plus.