Infiniti: Infiniti plans to switch to all-electric hybrid by 2025; targets millennial consumers

Lately, it seems, Infiniti can not take a break.

Sales plummeted last year to 149,280 vehicles in the US, down 2.7% from 2017. The automaker's QX30 – a small crossover that should capitalize on the Americans' uncompromising thirst for compact SUVs – only touched 8,101 units in the United States, down nearly 43%. as of 2017. The larger QX50 was one of the worst cars I've driven last year. Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of parent company Nissan Motor Co., has been jailed in Tokyo since November for financial crimes.

At the Detroit Auto Show, the Infiniti QX, Infiniti's futuristic electric crossover concept, refused to take to the stage as its designer continued his presentation.

So, what gives?

Christian Meunier, the new president of Infiniti, said it frankly in an interview earlier this week at Bloomberg News.

"Infiniti, for many reasons, has been a midfielder for years, trying to do too many things and trying to compete with everyone, with all the high-end brands, including the Germans," he said. Born in Paris.

His comments sound right. Models such as the Q60 and Q70 sedans are struggling to win against the more sophisticated and outstanding offerings of BMW, Mercedes and Porsche, which sell twice as many vehicles in a month and at higher prices.

Infiniti is part of the dangerous luxury category that is the first to suffer the shock when consumer confidence weakens, according to Charles Chesbrough, chief economist at Cox Automotive, a research and proprietary research company of Kelley Blue companies. Book and AutoTrader. There is a surplus of luxury vehicles for the moment. When they have the choice between a low-used luxury car or a vehicle of a premium brand such as Infiniti, consumers prefer the version used.

"Vehicles used in moderation keep some consumers away from potentially buying new vehicles," Chesbrough told Bloomberg in Detroit. "Consumers are looking for cost savings and want the products they really want."

According to Meunier, Infiniti should not compete with luxury brands anyway. "We do not want to be the # 1 brand, we want to be the most demanding brand," he says. "We can not be the car for everyone. We do not need 50 different models like the Germans. We need those who will give us the advantage in the market. "

Meunier thinks that good cars will be electric. Infiniti has already developed some concepts, including the Prototype 10 and the QX that stalled in Detroit. But the company is lagging behind luxury brands such as Tesla (S and X models), Audi (E-Tron), Jaguar (I-Pace) and Porsche (Taycan), all of which have already launched or are going to make. this year.

"The goal of the next two or three years is not to grow," says Meunier. "It's to consolidate and prepare the launch of all these cars. We are preparing for electrification. By 2025, the company plans to sell only vehicles equipped with electric or hybrid powertrains. If all goes as planned, the first batch will come out of the line by 2021.

This will represent a significant increase since the beginning of 2018. At that time, company leaders had said that only half of their global sales would come from electrified vehicles by 2025.

Infiniti hopes to sell its new electric vehicles to a new generation of buyers. According to AutoTrader data, 40% of all new vehicles will be sold millennia. The generation is less faithful to heritage brands than its predecessors.

"They want experience and they want technology," says Meunier. "They want to feel different. They want a product that makes them better as a person. Infiniti has a big role to play there. "