Photo: Infiniti
Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz were supposed to jointly develop compact cars that were to be built at their factory in Mexico. However, due to the uncertainty surrounding trade tariffs and a growing demand for SUVs, this was reportedly canceled.
The factory in Aguascalientes is owned 50/50 between the Daimler and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. It has an annual capacity of 230,000 vehicles, and the new QX50 crossover is already being assembled there since December 2017.
Infiniti's only compact car is the Q30, which has a more rugged version called the QX30. The model was introduced in 2015 and is based on the old MFA platform from the Mercedes A-Class and GLA. It has an obvious image problem (since it's a hatchback), has an interior filled with Mercedes buttons) and, worst of all is assembled only in Europe. In light of recent information, we wouldn't be surprised if it were discontinued.
Not much is know about the mystery jointly-developed compact car, but Mercedes has already made a whole range of new models, starting with the 2019 A-Class and soon to be followed by the CLA, GLA, and GLB. They didn't need any help! We think Infiniti wanted a compact sedan, but it might not have been popular.
Automotive News believes that the project was scrapped due to the possible duties that could come up after the American government renegotiates the North American Free Trade Agreement. However, SUVs are booming right now, prompting several luxury automakers to drop smaller sedan models.
However, the partnership between the automotive giants is still going strong. In Europe, the new A-Class just came out with two small turbocharged engines developed by Renault-Nissan while several Infiniti models still use 4-cylinder units from the Germans.
While Nissan would neither confirm nor deny the report, Infiniti spokesman Trevor Hale had this to say: "The cooperation between the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and Daimler is solid and we continue to reap the benefits of our successful cooperation, which includes a number of r&d and manufacturing initiatives around the world.”
Infiniti's only compact car is the Q30, which has a more rugged version called the QX30. The model was introduced in 2015 and is based on the old MFA platform from the Mercedes A-Class and GLA. It has an obvious image problem (since it's a hatchback), has an interior filled with Mercedes buttons) and, worst of all is assembled only in Europe. In light of recent information, we wouldn't be surprised if it were discontinued.
Not much is know about the mystery jointly-developed compact car, but Mercedes has already made a whole range of new models, starting with the 2019 A-Class and soon to be followed by the CLA, GLA, and GLB. They didn't need any help! We think Infiniti wanted a compact sedan, but it might not have been popular.
Automotive News believes that the project was scrapped due to the possible duties that could come up after the American government renegotiates the North American Free Trade Agreement. However, SUVs are booming right now, prompting several luxury automakers to drop smaller sedan models.
However, the partnership between the automotive giants is still going strong. In Europe, the new A-Class just came out with two small turbocharged engines developed by Renault-Nissan while several Infiniti models still use 4-cylinder units from the Germans.
While Nissan would neither confirm nor deny the report, Infiniti spokesman Trevor Hale had this to say: "The cooperation between the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and Daimler is solid and we continue to reap the benefits of our successful cooperation, which includes a number of r&d and manufacturing initiatives around the world.”
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