Infiniti just over the horizon?

The 'will they won't they' Infiniti saga is set for another chapter. According to Nissan Australia MD Dan Thompson, the Japanese company's Benz and BMW beating sub-brand is again a definite for Australia.

"Infiniti will come to Australia," Nissan Thompson told the Carsales Network yesterday at the 370Z Roadster launch in NZ.

"The GFC had stalled or slowed the progress of the launch, but sitting here today I can tell you that both from our side and Japan's side -- the global business unit -- we're very engaged in making it happen. With that said, it will take time, because our objective -- consistent with the global objective -- is to deliver a tier-one premium brand. With that, the [dealer] network development alone takes time.

"So this is one where I'm committed to bringing it here. It will work, I'm 100 per cent convinced Infiniti will work in this market, but [we're] making sure we do it right. In the case of Infiniti, obviously we'll take a similar strategy [as that taken] to Europe.

"We will do it right, similar to Europe. Obviously it's rolled out into Europe now and they've done it in a very deliberate fashion to ensure it's not all about just volume, volume, volume. It's about building brand and the appropriate network to link into the brand itself."

On the subject of the previous iteration of Infiniti in Australia, Thompson declares that the past will have no impact on the company's future plans. Are there lessons for Nissan in the failure of Infiniti during the 1990s?

"We had launched an Infiniti vehicle into Australia before, we had never launched the Infiniti brand into Australia. That, yes, in itself is a learning experience. I spent five years with Infiniti in the US. They were really at that crucial point -- probably 2000 -- redefining what it is we wanted out of the brand and I was fortunate enough to see at least some of the earliest successes…"

If a company is planning to establish a Japanese prestige brand in Australia, the logical competitor would surely be another Japanese prestige brand. Not necessarily so, says Thompson.

"Natural competitor is not Lexus, so obviously Infiniti is about delivering European levels of performance and refinement with our own flair for design... Infiniti is all about... delivering top-tier performance and design with a very strong value proposition, so it is very different from the Lexus strategy -- or at least the Lexus of old, which is very much customer-centric and 'ownership experience'.

"That's not our target for Infiniti."

Thompson latches onto a remark that Americans and Europeans have differing perceptions of what constitutes luxury and prestige. He intimates that with the changes of attitude, positioning and product at Infiniti, the brand is making inroads in Europe, where previously its American-targeted product wouldn't have made the grade. That's basically, in his view, why Infiniti can succeed in the Australia of 2010, where it failed in the 1990s.

"One of the things that we've learned is that in that space, European luxury and American luxury couldn't be more different, so once again there's our brand promise on Infiniti... more tier one. Legitimate premium luxury. A lot of it comes in interior refinement and design. We're making a lot of progress with the launch of Infiniti into Europe, because Infiniti very much has been a US-centric brand for 20 years.

Thompson expects Infiniti's chief competitors in Australia to be the 'tier one' prestige marques. "It's BMW, Audi... Like I said, it's very much the European premium marques," Thompson said.

In response to the observation that Lexus also competes with those marques, but Thompson doesn't see Lexus as a competitor to Infiniti, the Nissan MD distinguishes between the artificial construct of the VFACTS market segmentation and the actual real-world brand perception of one versus the other.

"It's the same segments and I guess to some degree it's natural to have the cross-shops and the competition across the... luxury makes, but when it comes to the direction of the brand... that's where we're more aligned over here. It's more premium European [image] when we target performance, when we target design, when we target interior fit and finish and quality in everything else. Of course, in premium you want to do everything well... but you still have to prioritise. For us it's a very important distinction."

The question of timing for the introduction of the Infiniti brand to Australia is a thorny one, as it turns out.

"We've reengaged with the global business unit and both are very eager to make it happen, so it certainly is a priority for us this year... Finalising the planning and the studying that was very much done two years ago."

Basically, there are some loose ends to tie up and then an entire dealer network to build before any cars can go on sale. Thompson suggests a period of "18 months to two years" -- following the completion of the "planning and studying".

"If it's going to take us 18 months to build a proper dealer network, it will be within our GT-2012 [global strategy] timeframe, but we need to finish this year... let's say resurrect all the fine tuning to the business planning and the strategies. It's probably an 18-month lead time to go out and find the investors, start building the network from nothing.

"Infiniti will have its own stand-alone network and facilities. Whether we have any Nissan dealers that are interested in coming into the Infiniti franchise, that is fair game, but it won't be part of the existing Nissan structure, from a dealer network [perspective]."

Although the three German prestige importers sell through bespoke dealer networks, for a start-up company to do so seems ambitious.

"That's why it can't happen as fast as you suggest [mid-2011]," Thompson responds.

How could it be done then? Perhaps establish a dealer in Sydney's northern suburbs or Melbourne's southern suburbs and wait for brand recognition and sales volumes to improve before establishing more?

"Could be," says Thompson. "We have to finalise the last bits and pieces of the plan and the strategy before I would answer that. It's certainly one of the options. For me it's not about getting Infiniti here as quickly as I can. It's not about speed to market for Infiniti."

"Certainly my intention though is to ensure we've launched Infiniti within our current mid-term strategy or within the current plan, which is GT-2012."

GT-2012 is due to conclude around March 2013, according to Thompson, so if a management team could begin recruiting dealers next week, the very earliest sales operations could begin might be around the start of the fourth quarter next year. In the (nominal) worst case scenario, it would be March 2013 -- but could be later than that too.

"It needs to be done right," says Thompson. "Otherwise you spend 20 years trying to build a premium brand if you don't start off doing it right...

"If you're a customer looking to buy a BMW or an Audi, you don't expect to walk into a dealership that's been slapped together in six months time has three other brands there."

Would buyers considering a BMW or an Audi contemplate buying an Infiniti though? They didn't back in the 1990s. Is Infiniti a damaged brand before it even gets off the ground again?

"By no means is Infiniti a damaged brand here. "As you said, there's a couple of people who bought a Q45 and know of Infiniti," he says with a laugh. "So that's of no concern whatsoever. Doesn't even show up on the radar... There's probably more people who know of Infiniti as it is today, than Infiniti from 20 years ago."

In this, he's referring to owners of grey-import Infinitis. The brand's recognition among Infiniti fans owning cars imported privately appears to be quite positive. Nevertheless, brand recognition among these enthusiasts is not sufficient, as far as Thompson is concerned.

"That's still very small," he concludes.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi.