While its fun to speculate as to how the decision to increase the reach of its Acura nameplate will affect future models, the
20-year-old luxury marque, introduced in North American in 1986, will only benefit from a larger audience. While popular, Honda doesn't sell as well in its home market, where it was passed by Nissan for second place in overall sales a couple of year's back, as it does in North America, therefore the move to introduce a separate luxury nameplate should boost interest in the automaker's vehicles.
And what about Nissan's Infiniti brand? As previously mentioned, while Acura is yet to be seen in or announced for the European market, Infiniti is already there, but it's not yet in Japan, or for that matter any Asian markets. That may change soon, however, as then-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who is now running Nissan's majority shareholder Renault, announced plans back in April of this year to launch Infiniti
in Japan. Will it arrive before Acura? Well, the launch date is said to be sometime after 2008, with inside sources indicating it could possibly take as long as 2011, so Honda will most likely beat Nissan to the home-market punch.
As for when the Acura nameplate will be sold in Europe, it's only a matter of time being that Lexus and Infiniti are already there, and there's always more money per vehicle to be made in the premium segment. When it finally does go global, Honda will have a chance to remake its Acura brand, pushing it further upscale if it chooses to. While the marque is respected in entry-level luxury circles, alongside such brands as Saab and Volvo, it hasn't been received as a true premium brand by luxury buyers as warmly as Lexus has, and with some exceptions, Infiniti.
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| Honda's home-market Edix would probably do well against Mercedes-Benz's overpriced and u-nderpowered B-Class if upgraded and rebadged as an Acura. (Photo: Honda) |
And what about Nissan's Infiniti brand? As previously mentioned, while Acura is yet to be seen in or announced for the European market, Infiniti is already there, but it's not yet in Japan, or for that matter any Asian markets. That may change soon, however, as then-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who is now running Nissan's majority shareholder Renault, announced plans back in April of this year to launch Infiniti
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| As for when the Acura nameplate will be sold in Europe, it's only a matter of time. (Photo: Honda) |
As for when the Acura nameplate will be sold in Europe, it's only a matter of time being that Lexus and Infiniti are already there, and there's always more money per vehicle to be made in the premium segment. When it finally does go global, Honda will have a chance to remake its Acura brand, pushing it further upscale if it chooses to. While the marque is respected in entry-level luxury circles, alongside such brands as Saab and Volvo, it hasn't been received as a true premium brand by luxury buyers as warmly as Lexus has, and with some exceptions, Infiniti.
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