When the Nissan Group reported its first-quarter US sales, it turned out that it fared a lot better than its Alliance partner Mitsubishi – which only saw 28k deliveries during the first three months of 2024!
Toyota, with 565,098 vehicles (+20.3%), is currently is hot on the heels of General Motors, which slipped 1.5% to 594,233 examples. The Asian pack is thriving, actually, as Toyota was followed by their rivals over at American Honda – the division saw its best first quarter since 2021 with 333,824 vehicles (+17.3%). Alas, Acura was down more than 20%!
After them came the Nissan Group, with 252,735 vehicles sold during the period, which is a 7.2% rise in deliveries compared to the first three months of 2023. However, again, they were slightly dragged down by the negative performance of Infiniti, which dropped almost 12% year-over-year. No worries, though, as the Japanese automaker has a solution to keep the positive trend for the namesake Nissan brand and revert the slump at Infiniti – the company will kickstart a new strategy with 30 new vehicle introductions by 2027.
Those include 16 hybrids and EVs, seven all-new models for the North American markets – the confirmed nameplates include a new generation of the Murano CUV and the popular Armada off-road SUV. Also, the roster consists of Infiniti models – the all-new QX80 was included in the slideshows, and it will also be used as a template for the new Armada and international Patrol generations. However, if we are to believe the rumor mill and the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, its new styling could also trickle down to lesser models in the lineup.
For example, Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, has taken up the task of CGI-revealing an Infiniti QX55 facelift – the coupe-SUV appears alongside the second generation of the QX50 (previously known as Infiniti EX) compact premium crossover SUV. The latter was introduced at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show for the 2019 model year, followed by the Infiniti QX55 coupe-SUV sibling in early 2021 for the 2022MY.
The 2024 Infiniti QX50 has a starting MSRP of $41k, making it the cheapest model in the company's roster on the US automotive market, but the $50,150 2024 Infiniti QX55, on the other hand, is more expensive than both the Q50 sedan and the larger, mid-size 2024 Infiniti QX60 crossover SUV, although it's much less practical. Alas, that means styling is its one and only trump card – making it a viable candidate for the QX80 design to trickle down to it.
For sure, this is precisely what happens in the unofficial CGI video presented by the pixel master – and as it turns out, the new QX80 traits look pretty decent on a virtually refreshed QX55 – including the massive yet flowing radiator grille, the separate LED light clusters, or the full-width LED taillights. Alas, do take all this with a pinch of salt – nothing is official from Infiniti about a facelift for QX55 just yet. Besides, if you ask us, maybe fans of Nissan and Infiniti are better off purchasing a much-cheaper second-generation 2025 Nissan Kicks – the subcompact has grown in terms of dimensions, has a completely fresh appearance, and also a larger and more powerful 2.0-liter gasoline engine.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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