When it comes to the automobile industry, the ability to develop and market an original and unique identity means everything. Early on, the search for an identity was a cause of distress for the Infiniti car brand. Here is how this Nissan luxury division brand found a name for itself.
In 1989, Nissan introduced the Infiniti automobile brand in the United States under its own division of luxury vehicles. It established the first two models under the Infiniti marque in the same year which were called the M30 coupe and the Q45 sedan. A few assets on these vehicles made them widely successful like installing a V8 engine, four wheel steering, and active suspension ( rather than passive suspension where the surface of the road determined the movement).
The nineties stormed in for the car company, and Infiniti sales could best be described as just that: stormy. Models like the Infiniti G20 and the Infiniti J30 were chock full of upgrades such as the inclusion of a leather interior and the multi-port fuel injection engine designed to improve performance. However, sales failed to turn in much of a profit. Coasting through the mid nineties, Infiniti was underfoot notable brands like Acura and Lexus; the marque continued to drown partly due to a lack of definitive identity.
With the end of Infiniti becoming dauntingly imminent, the company consecrated to revamp its sales tactics and build a more profit making car. And revamp it did. The sporty G35 coupe model energized sales in 2003, and shortly after, the FX35/45 crossover experienced roaring success as well.
However, Infiniti still struggled to establish a lasting identity of its own, so President and CEO of Nissan Motors, Carlos Ghosn, set out to change Infiniti’s indefinite identity crisis. To do this, he began steering the brand away from its Nissan holdings and began implementing a newfangled business plan of action. He promoted the G35 as the “Japanese BMW,” which completely transformed the Infiniti image from a mere lowly Nissan division brand to a car brand in its own right. Ghosn undraped the arrival of Infiniti into the European market at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, launching four models in European countries: the Infiniti FX37, the Infiniti FX50, the Infiniti G37 and the Infiniti EX37.
Today, Infiniti is celebrated for its sedans, coupes and crossovers. Some of the most current models include the following: Infiniti G, Infiniti M, Infiniti EX, Infiniti FX, Infiniti QX56 and Infiniti JX. Past models include the Infiniti G20, Infiniti G35, Infiniti M35, Infiniti M45 and Infiniti QX4. The three discontinued models are the Infiniti J30 sedan, the Infiniti I and the Infiniti Q45 sedan.
The future of Infiniti looks bold and bright as some upcoming vehicles are in tow at present. Among these soon to be new additions are the hybrid version of the M sedan and the diesel version of he M sedan. Today, the most widely sold series in the Infiniti division is the G Series, made up of coupes, sedans and convertibles. The Infiniti website describes its vision as this: “Infiniti’s pioneering spirit boldly breaks from convention to create something more distinctive. More alive.” While that statement may sound like a bold break away from competing brands, it has been argued that Infiniti’s intensiveness on presentation over utility has compromised the desirability of the product.
