Infiniti's unforeseeable future

Infiniti is steadily growing its sales base in Australia, but still has a long way to go before it can match any of its mainstream prestige competitors.

Sales volumes are expected to continue rising with the introduction of new product, and should also grow as a consequence of slowly improving retained values.

"Residuals are down, but in line with Volvo," admitted Bernard Michel, Infiniti's Senior Product Management Manager in Australia.

The prestige brand's preferred method of building sales in Australia is by expanding the local dealer network. Currently the dealer network comprises nine full dealers and two servicing dealers, with another to open its doors shortly in Hobart. It's part of a long-term plan to ramp up the retail footprint in the local market since repudiating its original low-key marketing strategy dating back to 2012.

The brand is "almost there," in the words of Michel, speaking with motoring.com.au during the recent launch of the updated Q50. With 12 outlets around the country, Infiniti's dealer network will almost match Porsche's (14).

Michel doesn't say so in as many words, but going beyond 12 outlets will be a challenge for the brand, with any further expansion likely contingent on significant sales growth first.

To put all that in context, Jaguar sold just over 3000 vehicles last year, from a dealer network of around 30 dealers, with plans during 2016 for the network to reach 45 dealers by mid-way through 2017. The 2016 sales figure was more than double the 2015 result with 25 dealers. But Jaguar's sales for the year to date in 2017 have lagged behind the same period last year – up to the end of October 2016. It's a sign that a larger dealer network doesn't necessarily translate to more sales.

As of October 2017, Infiniti has sold 675 cars, just 14 more than for the same period last year. But 2016 represented a new step forward for Infiniti, the importer finishing 233 sales ahead of its tally for 2015, mostly due to the introduction of the small Q30 and QX30 models.

But that sales figure for 2016 pales into insignificance when compared with even Alfa Romeo (711 cars sold), or Jaguar (3008), Porsche (4434), Volvo (5878) and Lexus (9027). Land Rover – an exclusively SUV brand – sold 13,597.

And then there were the mainstream Germans...

Audi sold over 24,000 vehicles, BMW made it past 28,000 and Mercedes-Benz piled on 36,634 vehicles, including people movers, but not commercial vehicles.

Karla Leach, General Manager for Corporate Communications at Infiniti Australia, says that "relatively affordable finance changes the market dynamics," which is why prestige-car purchases have been on an upward curve, whereas affordable cars (and especially those built in Australia) have been left behind.

The end of local manufacturing in Australia offers an opportunity of sorts for Infiniti, if it can convert and conquest buyers previously in the market for a high-performance Falcon or Commodore to a Q50 or Q70.

"As the market evolves... there's a definite performance element to it that people are looking for," Ms Leach acknowledged.

There's a sign that Infiniti buyers are already more likely to be in the same demographic as former Commodore and Falcon buyers – in the 35 to 45 age group. But in a further sign that the Infiniti brand can take sales away from other prestige brands, Ms Leach said that there's an increasing number of buyers in the 45 to 60-year old category now buying Infiniti, "because they won't be taken to the cleaners for servicing."

It's a tough battle for Infiniti however, and with Hyundai's Genesis brand on the march, things are about to get just that little bit tougher still.