Remember Infiniti? Premium division of Nissan used to be sold here SUVs, sedans and coupes, quite chic and technological. But faced with the much better established Lexus and the German premiums whose bad reputation is well known, it never managed to break through in Europe and carve out a place for itself in this very specific market. She has ceased its European operations in 2020, and a few months later the collapse of the Russian market (his second largest market after the United States) threw him into obscurity. Just look at the sales figures: In 2022, 58,600 Infiniti were sold worldwidevs. Acura’s 102,300 and 625,000 Lexus ! Losing these two key markets doesn’t explain everything: product updates are much slower than competitors…

A long and boring way out of the crisis

Was really appearance of the QX55 in 2021, the coupe version of the QX50 compact crossover, but the latter is already dated 2017, so we can’t talk about a completely new model. The QX80 full-size SUV (based on the Nissan Patrol) from 2010, and the Q50 sedan from 2013! The only real novelty: new QX60 (Nissan Pathfinder), completely updated in the second generation in 2022, finally seems to have breathed new air into the brand. This boosted Infiniti’s US sales by +47% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022! To continue this momentum, Infiniti will soon update a large portion of its lineup: Four new models were announced at the Tokyo Motor Show which opened today!

Infiniti sees its future in electricity

The first new feature: new generation QX80, 13 years later, the time has come! THE concept QX Monograph foreshadows an all-new version to be released next year (along with the new Nissan Patrol). Infiniti also announces the appearance of a large SUV-coupe based on the QX60: the QX65, which can be discreetly detected through the teaser image. But the big news this Tokyo Motor Show is that Infiniti is (finally) getting ready for it refer to 100% electricity.

Apart from the electric crossover, which is now called the Vision QXe, but is barely visible, it is more than that Vision Qe, a large sports electric sedan, which attracts all our attention. It may be Infiniti’s first electric model, which competes with the next Lexus IS. What’s interesting about these announcements is that Infiniti could take advantage of its electrification to return to Europe! For example, like Cadillac or Chevrolet. The brand has confirmed that it wants to release 19 new electric models by 2030 and 27 new electrified models.

Read also:

Test Nissan Qashqai (2021): return to the level?

Nissan Juke: less original, but more attractive?

Renault-Nissan: a new start thanks to pickups