Infiniti Q50 on the way

The Infiniti Q50 will launch in January with expected V6 petrol hybrid and 2.1-litre turbodiesel engines as Infiniti looks to step up its attack on the Australian prestige market. Infiniti general manager Kevin Snell won’t officially comment on the Q50 drivetrains but the UK arm of Nissan’s premium arm has already gone on sale with the above engines. Internet rumours suggest a four-cylinder turbo petrol is also well advanced.

The hybrid is an in-house design that’s used in the line-up already on sale in Australia. The turbodiesel is sourced from Mercedes-Benz and cranks out 125kW/400Nm in UK guise. Infiniti has just cut prices on its existing models by an average of $10,000, reflecting modest sales and the fact the Australian outfit was forced to launch with models in the middle of their life-cycle

Snell says existing Infiniti owners -- and there are 200 year-to-date -- will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis to ensure they’re not disadvantaged by the price cut. “When we launched the brand we aimed to build identity and deliver a customer experience that no other prestige carmaker could offer,” Snell says.

“That customer experience extends to the price adjustments. Our dealers have a unique relationship with their clients and we will deal with them accordingly. We intentionally started small (with just three dealers -- in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne) and now we’re stepping up to phase two.  That starts with the Q50, which will be on sale in January and will roll out from there.

Part of that strategy is the appointment of a new national sales manager in Andrei Zaitzev. “We’ve had a long-burn program - the business plan rolls out until 2020 - and there are now a significant number of new models in the pipeline that let us open the next wave of dealerships and progressively expand the models,” Snell says.

“We’ll leverage the four-cylinder turbo powertrains - they’re the future - and our relationship with Red Bull Racing in F1 to continue building brand identity.” Snell affirms the signing of Daniel Ricciardo to Red Bull will help the Australian arm by giving it a high-profile local ambassador to reinforce Infiniti’s performance credentials.