Infiniti's Etherea must be built in Europe?

The products of Infiniti, a Japanese brand, have tended to reflect the tastes of the company's largest market, North America. No surprise, that, since the company first opened its doors in America as long ago as 1989. However, the company's brand image and corporate look are now in a state of flux — by design.

According to Infiniti's Corporate Vice President, Toru Saito, the company must expand globally. To broaden Infiniti's reach around the world means developing vehicles that will appeal to consumers in markets other than the US.

Seven body types for the current product range will grow to 10 in five or six years' time, to accommodate that need, says Saito. And along with new models and body styles will come downsizing, both in footprint and engine capacity.

"We need a nice, high-quality, small vehicle," Saito-san said, citing the Etherea concept car, which made its debut at Geneva last year (2011). "If you look closely at Etherea, it's a unique design... it's not a typical five-door hatchback."

By virtue of being a small five-door hatch, Etherea is marked as something distinct from the sort of products Infiniti more readily sells in America. But nor is the Etherea, as it stands, an essentially European style of motor car. It appears to incorporate styling cues from its homeland. Saito-san doesn't back away from the influence of the Japanese culture on the design of the car — or any other model in the Infiniti stable.

"We should not be cautious about being 'Japanese'," he said. "The relentless pursuit of quality and reliability [is Japanese], but that is not enough."

A Japanese look, or Japanese packaging won't preclude any Infiniti model from being built in places other than Japan. With the parlous economic state of the European Union, Infiniti must find ways to remain competitive in those markets if it's serious about tackling the European prestige rivals. That means "managing cost" — something Saito-san claims Infiniti does very well, but he acknowledges that the company's dependence on Japan as a manufacturing base is currently problematical.

"We cannot keep production in Japan," he said. "We have to manage currency fluctuations..."

That's largely why the Etherea is expected to be built at Nissan's Sunderland plant in the UK.
 

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