Infiniti still working on performance division

It seems the lure of a BMW M or Mercedes-Benz AMG-style performance division has not gone unnoticed by Infiniti.

Infiniti first announced plans to offer a range of cars under the Infiniti Performance Line (IPL) banner in 2010, starting with mechanically and cosmetically modified G37 Coupe, but little has materialised since then.

However, Infiniti managing director Allen Lu says the Nissan premium brand’s R&D team continues to work on higher-output versions of both its current and future product range -- potentially with input from the Red Bull Racing F1 team.

Speaking at the Nissan 360 event in the USA this week, Lu told motoring.com.au that Infiniti first needs to prove it has the ability to offer more than its models already do.

“As you can see by our relationship with Formula One Red Bull Racing, Infiniti has already started to work with our technical and engineering departments to put Formula One technology into production vehicle design and engineering,” Lu said.

“We are heading for [the] performance car business, but we first need to show that we can compete in this very technical-oriented [part of the market], to show that the company has this kind of ability before we enter that kind of segment.”

If it does, Infiniti could soon have hotter versions of existing models such as its newly released Q50. This would give the luxury Japanese marque a vehicle with which to compete against the likes of BMW’s M3 or the strong-selling Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG.

Concept models, such as the sleek EMERG-E supercar and, more likely, the Essence could also form the basis of future flagships for an Infiniti performance brand.

Lu said a “halo car” would be considered, though “it just depends how we can make it into [a] production [model]”.

Exactly how IPL models will be positioned relative to Nissan’s Nismo performance brand remains to be seen, however.

Lu said that a metered approach to the portfolio was required, and that the development of a performance division would only come as part of strategy that sought to grow the Infiniti brand at both ends of the current portfolio.

To that end, Lu says Infiniti is also seeking to compete heavily at the entry-end of the prestige market where small hatches and SUVs were critical in attracting younger customers to the brand.

“One of the things we are doing now is to build a wider product range,” explained Lu.

“Starting with the new Q30 smaller sedan, plus the future QX30 cross-over, [our aim] is to mainly attract the younger customer and get them familiar with our product.”

The formula has already proved a success with German prestige brands such as BMW locally. BMW’s 1 Series hatch and coupe models as well as X1 and X3 SUVs account for the lion’s share of sales with first-time and younger prestige buyers.

“[We are] growing the consumer range to make them feel like there is a lot of choice, and start them [being interested in the Infiniti brand] from an early age,” continued Lu.

“In the Australian market, we are being very patient to build our brand. Before we can start to do volume we need to build our premium image. We think that the Australian market has great potential in the premium segment and we’re not so anxious about the current situation.”

Infiniti Australia slashed its prices by up to $13,000 earlier this month, at which point it had found just 255 customers in less than 12 months on sale here.

Infiniti says it aims to double its powertrain offerings by 2020 and increase the number of vehicles in its portfolio by as much as 60 per cent.

Australia is set to receive a number of new and refreshed models within the next six months, including the aforementioned Q50 sedan, , Q60 Coupe and Convertible, QX70 mid-size SUV, Q70 large sedan and the QX80 large SUV.

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