Photo: Infiniti
What happens when you take the QX50, then give it a coupe-inspired rear end? The QX55 happens, yet Infiniti has a few problems with the all-new crossovers.
According to Automotive News, the company is citing “operational efficiencies” for the five-month delay in production. The compact crossover will be made in Mexico at the Aguascalientes facility on the same assembly line as the QX50, and as you can imagine, it’ll compete against the BMW X4 and Mercedes GLC.
We already know the QX55 is going to arrive at dealerships for the 2021 model year, but if production indeed starts in November, then the earliest deliveries will take place in December 2020. The reason Infiniti wants yet another crossover in the lineup is simple: to strengthen up the brand’s market share in the United States.
Sales dropped in 2019 by 21.1 percent, down to 117,708 vehicles as opposed to 149,280 in 2018. Infiniti is doing so bad in Europe that the luxury brand decided to exit the Old Continent in a bid to restructure the company’s global operations.
In other words, the higher-ups and bean counters are managing a worst-case scenario. The departure from Europe will further allow Infiniti to focus on electrification, discontinue diesel engines, and focus on more lucrative markets such as the United States of America, as well as the People’s Republic of China.
The Aguascalientes plant isn’t owned by Nissan, but is a joint venture with Daimler AG. Mercedes-Benz manufactures the A-Class there while the Japanese automaker builds the QX50, Kicks crossover, and Sentra sedan. The upcoming QX55, as you can tell from the teaser photo, is gifted with a fastback-style sloping roofline that Infiniti claims it’s a tribute to the first-gen FX from the 2003 model year.
Powertrain choices may number only one in the guise of the KR20DDET, also knows as the VC-Turbo in Infiniti jargon. The variable-compression engine with four cylinders and 2.0 liters displacement is available with front- and all-wheel drive, and the only transmission available is a CVT developed by JATCO.
We already know the QX55 is going to arrive at dealerships for the 2021 model year, but if production indeed starts in November, then the earliest deliveries will take place in December 2020. The reason Infiniti wants yet another crossover in the lineup is simple: to strengthen up the brand’s market share in the United States.
Sales dropped in 2019 by 21.1 percent, down to 117,708 vehicles as opposed to 149,280 in 2018. Infiniti is doing so bad in Europe that the luxury brand decided to exit the Old Continent in a bid to restructure the company’s global operations.
In other words, the higher-ups and bean counters are managing a worst-case scenario. The departure from Europe will further allow Infiniti to focus on electrification, discontinue diesel engines, and focus on more lucrative markets such as the United States of America, as well as the People’s Republic of China.
The Aguascalientes plant isn’t owned by Nissan, but is a joint venture with Daimler AG. Mercedes-Benz manufactures the A-Class there while the Japanese automaker builds the QX50, Kicks crossover, and Sentra sedan. The upcoming QX55, as you can tell from the teaser photo, is gifted with a fastback-style sloping roofline that Infiniti claims it’s a tribute to the first-gen FX from the 2003 model year.
Powertrain choices may number only one in the guise of the KR20DDET, also knows as the VC-Turbo in Infiniti jargon. The variable-compression engine with four cylinders and 2.0 liters displacement is available with front- and all-wheel drive, and the only transmission available is a CVT developed by JATCO.
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