The next North American International Auto Show takes place next month, before it moves to the month of June for 2020. And INFINITI will be there with its new all-electric SUV concept, which it has just teased with a first image.
The model will provide a window into the design orientation the brand’s electric models will take in the coming years. The automaker is set to undertake a major shift in that direction starting in 2021. The new concept is thus serving as marker for the brand that made its first public debut thirty ago - at the Detroit show.
The image shows a more prominent front grille displaying large INFINITI letters as well as the brand’s logo; also notable are the very slim headlights. The tiny side-view mirrors and the absence of door handles tell us this is a design study many steps removed from a production version, but it does show us where INFINITI is headed with its overall design. There’s also a definite continuity in terms of styling with the Q Inspiration concept, all under the guidance of INFINITI’s head of design Karim Habib.
For Habib and for Alfonso Albaisa, VP of design at Nissan, the introduction of electric SUVs represents the start of a new era for the two brands. The new generation of electrified models will begin to populate brand dealerships starting in 2021, at which point all INFINITIs sold will be electrified in one form or another.
The intention is for the concept being unveiled in Detroit to eventually evolve into a production model. Right now, though, the prototype will give people the opportunity to discover the automotive group’s new electric platform that will serve any number of products in the coming years.
As with virtually every other carmaker right now, INFINITI seems on the verge of a new era in its existence.