Nissan Sunderland to build Infinitis
tinyurl.com/castkvy
250 jobs and up to 60,000 motors per year...........I hope they have engines other than the standard 3.7ltr currently their main engine.
|
|
That must be a relief to Sunderland, especially with the poor sales of the Leaf...
|
Net gain of 55 jobs, not 250, as they are now not going to build "a hatchback" that was planned there, but "elsewhere".
I tried to find out a bit about the Infiniti's performance/mpg but the Infiniti website is a triumph of style over substance, and with my short attention span I just
|
The BBC news this morning mentioned a 'compact' Infiniti, but the BBC website mentions only that it'll be based on (for which read 'have nothing obviously to do with') a concept called Ethera, have a name beginning with Q, a diesel option and a target of selling a third to a half in Europe. None of that says 3.7 petrol V6 to me but Infiniti's marketing has been a closed book for years, to the point where I'm surprised they even try to sell in Europe.
If they're going to try to achieve serious sales here it'll be interesting to see what effect the reliability question has. I suspect Infiniti might have done well here if introduced in the 1990s when Lexus was gaining ground, Mercedes had lost its way, and Nissan was highly regarded for quality and reliability. Now that it's become the novelty branch of Renault...
|
Similar quote on Autonews Europe, they have a pic of the concept on there aswell...
Nissan's Infiniti brand today said it will build its new premium compact hatchback in the UK.
Production of the luxury brand's entry model will begin in 2015 for global markets at Nissan's plant in Sunderland, England, Infiniti said in a statement.
Nissan will invest about 250 million pounds ($405 million) in the plant to expand capacity to produce 60,000 Infiniti models a year.
"This milestone, our first premium product to be manufactured at Sunderland, reconfirms our commitment to UK manufacturing and the ongoing success of the plant, which is moving up the value chain," said Colin Dodge, Nissan's chief performance officer, in the statement.
The new compact will be aimed at young buyers, mainly in Europe, and will compete against models such as the Mercedes-Benz A class, BMW 1 series and Audi A3.
The car was previewed by the Etherea concept unveiled at the 2011 Geneva auto show. It is likely to be built on Mercedes's MFA architecture, which underpins the A- and B-class model lines. Mercedes parent Daimler has a technology sharing partnership with Renault-Nissan.
Infiniti executives have previously said the car will be different from anything currently available in the premium compact class, not just a smaller version of a conservative luxury car.
The new Infiniti is being developed with help from Nissan's London design center and its European technical center in Cranfield, England.
Nissan said a volume compact hatchback announced for the Sunderland plant in April will now be built elsewhere. Sourcing for this vehicle will be decided and announced at a later date, the automaker said.
Read more: www.autonews.com/article/20121219/ANE/121219872#ixzz2FUaPXAuP
|
Nobody is going to buy an Infiniti when they can have a BMW, Audi or Mercedes for the same money. The talents of the product don't matter. Lexus are proof of that.
Badge snobbery defines the "premium" sector, and will continue to rule it.
|
|
Maybe the marketing will lean on the fact that it is built on a Mercedes platform then?
Last edited by: Boxsterboy on Wed 19 Dec 12 at 13:55
|
Lexus' shortfall was that they didn't have the right specification for high sales in the large cars, they could have wiped the floor with Mercedes and driven a big hole in BMW sales if only they'd had an estate, and an automatic Diesel option for all models some years ago.
And i don't mean the 4 cylinder tractor Diesel borrowed from Avensis i mean a proper thumping great one, possibly a reworked Landcruiser lump, bombproof and pull a house down.
Hopefully Infiniti won't make the same mistake by appealing only to niche buyers.
|
New Lexus IS will not feature a diesel engine - hybrid in the route taken,
So if there is no diesel and no estate what will happen to IS sales - their biggest seller?
Infinit have a 3 litre diesel but a bit big for the new car which is A3 sized unless they are looking in the Renfault parts bin!
|
Lexus seem to have come and gone, or at least plateaued and are trending down.
Sales figures here
media.toyota.co.uk/wp-content/files_mf/1347548086LexusUKYearBookbymodel9911.pdf
41 Ls sales at the end there? Lord above. Shame. I loved mine to bits, not literally.
|
Not sure if the recent CT is sold in other markets, but Lexus's model range is a pretty clear indication that it doesn't really care about selling in Europe; Infiniti's - till now, perhaps - even more so. European presence gives Lexus the cachet of being a 'global brand', which counts where the real money is: in the American and Asian markets.
I'm ready to be proved wrong but I think Nissan is attacking the premium market from the wrong end. Buyers of low-end Audis and BMWs are the greatest badge snobs of all, prepared to overpay for a less-capable car just for the cachet - that word again - of the key fob. Even in their 1990s heyday, smaller Lexuses came across as rather vulgar and arriviste (there was no Chrysler 300C in those days, of course) so it's hard to see a Nissan-Renault product being a more appealing alternative now to the German establishment. They might have done better to start with a more relevant engine option in the big saloon, and try to establish it as the smart-money option for those in the know, as the first LS400 was 20 years ago - assuming they really do want to sell in Europe, that is.
|
Don't give up do they? New LS video here. Worst Video Ever.
Still, 435 hp will get you from a to b reasonably easily.
tinyurl.com/cmwv8j7
|
Infiniti - To Sunderland and beyond! - PR
