Photo: Infiniti
While Infiniti, Nissan's premium Lexus-rivaling brand, has been on the market for the last 24 years, they have struggled right from the start, with cars not nearly up to the standard of their German rivals (or Lexus, for that matter). Their cars always seemed like they were trying a bit too hard, while arriving at the party very late indeed.
Apparently, this year's North American International Auto Show, in Detroit, was the stage for a very interesting conversation between Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn and the company's executive VP, Andy Palmer.
The latter said, while talking for wardsauto.com: “Very frankly, very candidly, we don’t need Infiniti, we just don’t need that brand [ . . . ] Mr. Ghosn challenged me and said, ‘We don’t have to do Infiniti, you can cancel it if you want.’”
However, since the automakers who do have a 'luxury division' tend to end up doing quite well, with their more expensive branch bringing in huge profits (much more so than selling more cheap cars). They also want to follow the example set by Audi, as the German automaker has distanced itself from its VW parent, thus allowing them "to create a series of professionals that understand the premium market in a very premium way.”
The latter said, while talking for wardsauto.com: “Very frankly, very candidly, we don’t need Infiniti, we just don’t need that brand [ . . . ] Mr. Ghosn challenged me and said, ‘We don’t have to do Infiniti, you can cancel it if you want.’”
However, since the automakers who do have a 'luxury division' tend to end up doing quite well, with their more expensive branch bringing in huge profits (much more so than selling more cheap cars). They also want to follow the example set by Audi, as the German automaker has distanced itself from its VW parent, thus allowing them "to create a series of professionals that understand the premium market in a very premium way.”
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