Infiniti is the luxury side of Nissan, the Japanese auto company. Sales of the Infiniti brand in North America began in 1989. The offshoot was developed in order to take advantage of the growing demand for upmarket models.
Infiniti was originally designed to combine the premium auto brands found in Britain, Germany and Japan. As a luxury brand, expect every Infiniti to be fully-loaded with equipment and have a stylish design.
Manufacturer Spotlight
- Date FoundedNovember 8, 1989
- HeadquartersWan Chai, Hong Kong
- Websitehttp://www.infiniti.com/
History
The Infiniti brand hit the U.S. market in November 1989. Upon its release, the target market was to compete with the other premium vehicles already on the market.
The marketing strategy was to target the premium vehicle segments in the United States that would not have otherwise fit in with Nissan’s more mainstream image, and partially influenced by the Plaza Accord of 1985. The brand was created around the same time as Japanese rivals Toyota and Honda developed their Lexus and Acura premium brands.
The Infiniti marque was launched with 2 models—the Q45 and the M30—that were previously sold at Japanese Nissan Motor Store dealership networks.
Current Models
- Infiniti Q30
- Infiniti Q50 (Q50 2.0t Pure, 2.0t Luxe, 3.0t Luxe, 3.0t Sport, Red Sport 400, Hybrid)
- Infiniti Q60 (Q60 2.0t Pure, 2.0t Luxe, 3.0t Luxe, 3.0t Sport, Red Sport 400)
- Infiniti Q70 (M25, M30d, M35h, M37/M37x AWD and M56/M56x AWD variations, all sedans)
- Infiniti QX30 (Base, Luxury, Premium, and Sport)
- Infiniti QX50 (EX30d and EX37 in Europe)
- Infiniti QX60 (3.5, Hybrid variant discontinued)
- Infiniti QX80 (SUV)
Discontinued Models
- Infiniti M30 (coupe and convertible) and M35/M45 (sedan)
- Infiniti QX4 (SUV)
- Infiniti J30 (sedan)
- Infiniti I30 and I35 (sedan)
- Infiniti Q40 (sedan)
- Infiniti Q45 (sedan)
- Infiniti QX70 (3.7, 3.7 AWD, 5.0 AWD)
- Infiniti ESQ (rebadged Nissan Juke sold exclusively in China)