Infiniti to ‘de-Americanise’
The chief of Infiniti has admitted that the luxury car maker has to ‘de-Amercanise’ their line-up in order to achieve success on a larger, more global scale.
Infiniti came into being in 1989 and for almost two decades it sold its vehicles exclusively in the US, Europe becoming a market for the carmaker relatively recently in 2008. Considering the very bad times that the American car industry has been going through ever since 2008, president of Infiniti Johan de Nysschen has admitted that the brand needs to shift its philosophy in order to increase their appeal in other markets.
He continued to say that the strong US-centric focus has driven their product strategy for a long while, and in order to position themselves as a strong contender in the premium market, they need to break that mould, adding that their entry-level engine is a 330hp V6, not exactly in tune with European or other market requests.
Infiniti’s partnership with Daimler is a major part of this plan, and the first fruits of this collaboration can be seen in the Japanese brand’s German rival supplying the 2.1-litre direct injection four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine from the C-Class and E-Class for use in the new Q50 sedan.
Infiniti plans to diversify their line by 2015 when they plan on launching the Q30 small car, and is set to bolster their compact line-up with the QX30 crossover further down the track.
On the other hand, Nissan executive vice president Andy Palmer – who is Nysschen’s boss – thinks that increasing their large-car portfolio is key to the global success of the brand, even if this approach is opposed to that of their German competitors.
De Nysschen has admitted that they are looking into making a flagship four-door coupe, which might wear the Q80 nameplate from 2018, but they’re still looking into the idea of launching a pure sports car.
