Given Nissan’s current well-publicized financial problems, there’s been persistent concern about the future of the Infiniti brand, especially as its sales have continued to decline in North America in recent years.
In the U.S., the brand's sales peaked in 2017 with 153,415 units. Sales totaled 58,070 last year, barely more than a third of that peak.
The rivals
Acura, which is having its own challenges, sold over 122,000 vehicles consumers last year, while Lexus sold 345,000 units in 2024 in the U.S. This gives an idea of Infiniti's position right now.
Despite everything, Nissan remains committed to its luxury brand. Earlier this week, the automaker unveiled its plans for the coming years, and Infiniti is part of the plan. One of the goals is clear; to further distinguish the two brands and expand the Infiniti model range.
Fresh blood
Refreshments are also planned for the QX60, while a new variant is set to join the lineup of the new QX80 soon. A "new" model is expected later this year, in the form of the QX65, in essence a coupe version of the QX60.
After that should come an all-electric SUV based on the Vision QXe concept presented in recent years. It will be manufactured in the U.S. at Nissan’s plant in Canton, Mississippi.
Nissan North American planning director Ponz Pandikuthira confirmed that Infiniti is here to stay. He rightly pointed out that a company doesn’t invest as massively as it did for the renewal of the QX80 with the intention of closing up shop shortly thereafter.
That's true, but let's say that the automotive industry has already shown us this kind of scenario, in which after investing colossal sums, certain models were sacrificed.
There has also been talk in recent months of electrification for Infiniti products, but that has yet to be confirmed by Infiniti. That has perhaps been moved from the front to the back burner for now.
Faster development schedules
According to new Nissan boss Ivan Espinosa, the company aims to reduce the development time of new models, from 55 months to 37 (and 30 for upgrades). That should result in more new and revised models coming from both brands, but beyond that, there could a wait of a few years before we see more significant changes from Infiniti.
The automaker’s renewal of commitment to its luxury brand is good news, not least because there are jobs on the line.