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To Infiniti And Beyond
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To Infiniti And Beyond
Geoff Maxted
DriveWrite
November 16, 2013
The world’s car markets are opening out and right now the Far East seems to be a target for all the major car makers. For example, Nissan’s luxury Infiniti brand plans to attract younger Chinese buyers who are more open-minded about trying out new cars because they find an Audi, Mercedes or BMW too commonplace. Tell that to the UK’s hard-pressed car fanciers.
Luxury buyers in China - soon to be the world’s largest motor market - are younger than the average owner of premium cars globally and are less concerned about a brand’s heritage than its present-day image, so said the President of Infiniti, in an interview.
He went on to say that, ironically, the three German brands have become so successful that they’ve become almost a little bit ubiquitous “They’re everywhere”, to quote his exact words. Thus Infiniti see a big opportunity with this new emerging premium consumer to offer them an alternative and, in their words, reinvent the notion of exclusivity.
It is believed that China will overtake the USA as the world’s biggest market. Infiniti plans to target ten percent of the world premium market by 2020. To do that, the marque has to win market share from the German giants.
The three German car manufacturers, which all build cars in China, account for about three of every four premium motors sold in the Asian nation. China levies a 25 percent duty on imported cars, making them less competitive against locally produced models which is why everyone is either opening factories or negotiating build deals with local manufacturers. .
Infiniti expects to begin local production of two long-wheelbase models, the Q50 saloon (pictured) and QX50 Crossover, next year. Manufacturers offer stretched versions of their models for the Chinese consumer, as they prefer to be chauffeured and seek more backseat comfort.
We only stopped giving aid to China last year although it turns out we still do, indirectly, via EU ‘development’ money. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
Topics: Infiniti
