Infiniti has officially refuted a rumor that it is withdrawing from the Chinese market. The rumor appears to have originated from a Wechat-based blogging account and posts on Weibo. Despite Infiniti’s protestations that it is not true, evidence suggests otherwise.
The Japanese brand was absent again from this year’s Guangzhou Auto Show and it is reported that it is stopping Chinese production. However, this is not the first time it has been reported that Infiniti is withdrawing from China. This time however the rumors appear more substantiated.
Sales in October were just 255, and cumulative sales to the end of October were 1,919. This indicates that sales are even worse than last year, when the annual sales were 5,824. Such a decline in sales volumes has led to an exodus of dealers since the beginning of the year.
Reports also indicate large-scale personnel restructuring. The former head of Infiniti China has been transferred to the Venucia division within Dongfeng Nissan, and other employees are considering internal transfers or resignations.
Infiniti officials said that these reports are untrue and belong to the groundless speculation of self-media on the Internet, which has had a serious negative impact on the brand image.
The speculation comes just weeks after the upmarket brand from Nissan celebrated its 35th anniversary, having been founded on November 8, 1989. It should be noted that the brand has already withdrawn from Europe, Australia, and South Korea, and it is reported that sales in the US market are average.
The Chinese market was once Infiniti’s big hope. Sales initially began in 2004 with the Infiniti FX. Official entry started in 2007, but the brand soon ran into trouble due to China’s emission tax, which targeted cars with large displacement engines, an area that Infiniti mainly focused on.
In 2012, Infiniti moved its global headquarters to Hong Kong, making it the first luxury car brand to have its world headquarters within greater China. Then, in 2013, the brand sponsored the popular TV show “Where Are You Going, Dad” and was the dedicated car brand for the show, helping gain popularity.
From 2014 Infiniti’s relationship with the Chinese market moved up a rung with the establishment of the Dongfeng Infiniti joint venture which put the brand on an equal footing as Dongfeng Nissan. This led to domestic production of Infiniti models and sales continued to increase up to a peak of 48,408 cars in 2017.
Since then, Infiniti’s position in China has been gradually declining. In 2020, the global headquarters moved back to Japan, and in 2022, Dongfeng Infiniti became a division of Dongfeng Nissan.
Behind the collapse has been an inability to pivot towards new energy vehicles despite claims that the brand would do so. The brand has also suffered from a lack of models partly due to an inability to pay the cooperation fee with Mercedes Benz for the development of new cars.
Furthermore, the brand’s QX60 model was featured in the CCTV 315 Gala program, which highlights brands abusing consumer rights. The QX60 was featured because it experienced abnormal noises and gearbox failures within a short period of time after purchase.
Update: Nissan contacted me to say that the Chinese information about Infiniti being absent from the Guangzhou Auto Show is incorrect. Indeed the floor plan for 2024 shows the brand opposite BMW and Mini. This strengthens Infiniti’s rebuttal of the story.
Sources: Fast Technology, AI4Auto WeChat
