South Korean Expansion Marks First Time Infiniti Brand Available Outside of North America
Nissan has announced plans to introduce its Infiniti luxury brand to South Koreans in mid-2005, according to a recent report. The event will mark the first time that the Infiniti brand will be made available in a dedicated sales network outside of North America.
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| For the first time Infiniti vehicles will be made available outside of North America when the brand expands into South Korea in 2005. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Infiniti will sell a full model lineup, including the popular G35 sedan and coupe, full-size Q45 luxury sedan, and future M35 and M45 sedans as shown in prototype form at the New York International Auto Show in April. The brand's performance-oriented FX35 and FX45 are reported to be following later that same year.
Why Korea? According to Kenneth L. Engberg, president of Nissan Korea, "Korea's imported car market is expected to more than double within five years. Once our Infiniti dealer network becomes fully operational, we expect to achieve sales volumes similar to other leading luxury brands."
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| Nissan already has plans to expand its Infiniti brand to other markets after a successful launch in the Korean market. (Photo: Infiniti Canada) |
Such volume will be important to Nissan's continual progression up the global sales charts.
"Nissan Korea will be an important driver of Nissan Value-Up, our newly announced three-year business plan. We are convinced that Infiniti, following its success in the fiercely competitive U.S. market, will strongly appeal to Korean luxury vehicle customers," said Toshiyuki Shiga, senior vice president of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
The move outside of the U.S. and Canada has been anticipated since rival luxury nameplate Lexus started entering new markets, Europe being among the most prestigious. With that in mind, will Infiniti follow suit? Nissan's President and CEO Carlos Ghosn announced last month that the Nissan has plans to expand its Infiniti brand to other markets after a successful launch in the Korean market. The target markets will include Western Europe, but not until launches in its home market of Japan, also following Lexus' recent lead, plus China and Russia.