Infiniti arrives quietly

The boss of the Australian arm of Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti says its local rarity will actually work in its favour as it seeks to carve an audience in the premium segments.

“It (Infiniti) provides a statement for people who don’t want to follow the status quo,” Nissan Australia Managing Director and CEO Bill Peffer told motoring.com.au last night. “Infiniti is something different; there is not one in every corner, not one in every driveway.”

At the moment there are no Infinitis in private hands anywhere in Australia, although that is about to change as the launch line-up – comprising the FX SUV and M large sedan - is on sale “effectively now”.

But with only one dealer in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and no more to be added for up to 18 months, there is no threat to Infiniti’s rarity any time in the brand’s first few years on sale here.

Which is fine, says Mr Peffer, as volume will not be important for years.

“That’s not the way that we want to establish the brand,” he said. “I think the primary objective for this market is to get the brand established. We are here for the long haul, we are not here to get in and out of the market.”

“The push for volume at any cost - that’s a problem.”

Mr Peffer said the success of Infiniti would initially be gauged by a number of other measures including brand awareness, brand acceptance, enquiry rates, retailer profitability and the ability to “take hold in a very complicated, very crowded market”.

The FX comes with the choice of petrol V6 and V8 and turbo-diesel V6 engines, while the M includes petrol and turbo-diesel V6s and a V6 petrol-electric hybrid. Prices range from $83,900 to $114,900 for the FX and from $85,900 to $99,900 for the M.

The BMW 3 Series-sized G convertible and coupe join the line-up in December, while Mr Peffer confirmed an all-new G sedan – due to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show next March – will be on sale in Australia by mid-2013.

Further out, there is the prospect of an all-new Infiniti compact car that shares Mercedes-Benz’s MFA small-car architecture, a luxury EV based on the Nissan Leaf and even an electric supercar.

Mr Peffer explained that the Infiniti launch line-up had been shaped to help separate the brand from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lexus.

“What we are doing to differentiate ourselves from Lexus is we are bringing in a diesel powertrains for FX and M,” he said.

“To differentiate ourselves from some of the European countries we are looking at hybrids and we are bringing a hybrid with M.

“We are not like any other brands,” Mr Peffer added. “We think we provide a different purchase experience and provide a different value proposition and we think we offer a different approach to a luxury car than any of those brands do.”

Watch this space for our first Australian drives of all the new Infiniti models on Wednesday, September 5.

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