Proven talents and technologies propel Infiniti to record growth

In unveiling the new Q60 sports coupe on Jan 11 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the premium auto brand Infiniti gave a glimpse into its design direction for the next five years.

The world premiere of the new Q60 comes at a time of rapid global growth for Infiniti, which had a record 215,250 new vehicles sold last year, a rise of 16 percent from the previous year. This is the first time that it has exceeded 200,000 in sales.

"Last year was a strong year for Infiniti's growth... and we expect it to continue in 2016," said Carlos Ghosn, president and CEO of Nissan Motor Co Ltd, during the auto show.

Roland Krueger, president of Infiniti Motor Co, said in many regions around the world, "we achieved record sales."

"One of the examples is China," Krueger said. "Against the background of a sluggish overall automotive market, Infiniti, with a growth of 33.8 percent, was the fastest growing premium brand for the second year in a row."

Last year, Infiniti's sales on the Chinese mainland reached a historic peak of 40,188 units, a record for the third consecutive year. The auto brand's market share climbed to 2.2 percent from 0.9 percent in 2012. The premium automaker also edged up 5.3 percent while the overall auto market went up 4.7 percent.

People and technology

China is Infiniti's second-largest market and also its most important growth market. In late 2014, the joint venture Dongfeng Infiniti Motor Co Ltd was established for the premium auto brand to deepen its localization in the market.

Ghosn said the company's team in China "has done a great job under the leadership of Infiniti's management in China."

"There are lots of excellent Chinese talents doing great work. I'm very positive about the development of Infiniti in China," Ghosn said. "At the end of the day, a premium brand is about its people and technology. You have to have both. And the first above all, is the people, the team. As it builds up, then there are more talents coming."

The Dongfeng Infiniti team, whose members are of an average age of 33, has forged the Gan Ai (which means dare to love) corporate culture featuring "commitment, caring, challenges and cooperation".

The joint venture's first model, the Q50L, topped the entire Infiniti lineup with sales of 1,855 units, more than double the figure in the same period of 2014. The two locally produced models, Q50L and all-new QX50, with sales of 23,431 units, accounted for almost 60 percent of total sales.

Ghosn noted that the Q50L sports sedan has "greatly attracted Chinese people with its technical innovations.""When looking at the Q50L, you'll find it's a very advanced and premium performance car. The Chinese customers want to see the feature of technology, and appreciate the car for the technology."

In the sports sedan Q50L, Infiniti introduced its world's leading Direct Adaptive Steering steer-by-wire technology, which filters out every poke and prod from the road surface and is considered a pathway to autonomous driving. It also introduced the brand's Safety Shield system, like the Predictive Forward Collision Warning and Active Lane Control.

Krueger also attributed achievements in the China market to the rapid expansion of dealerships, which increased to 112 from 84 last year, as well as the "win-win relationship with the dealers."

"We've been working very closely with dealers throughout the year, and also looking forward to the future, identifying the opportunities in the market, making sure there's very good cooperation and engagement with dealer networks in China," Krueger said.

Daniel Kirchert, president of Dongfeng Infiniti, said the brand's achievements amid the country's new normal economic mode have come about because of "the innovations by the entire team".

"The team is really a Gan Ai team. Young as they are, they have no fear and have continued to be innovative, which has driven Infiniti to develop quickly," Kirchert said.

Brand shaper of all-new Q60

As the third-generation version of Infiniti's iconic sports coupe, the new Q60 builds on Infiniti's heritage of technological leadership. It reinforces Infiniti's reputation for performance, elegance and driver-focused design.

"The Infiniti Q60 is our brand shaper and represents the design direction over the next five years. It conveys a powerful elegance through its daring design, next-generation ride and handling technologies. Its powertrain offers up to 400hp. I believe the Q60 will attract new customers to the Infiniti brand and affirm our position in the sports coupe segment," Krueger said.

The premium sports coupe, designed and engineered to perform, offers a compelling combination of daring design and exhilarating performance and dynamics. The bold exterior of the Q60 expresses a powerful elegance through its expressive proportions and taut, muscular lines.

The high performance 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbo engine comes in two power ratings - 300 and 400 horsepower - with the latter offering one of the best power-to-efficiency ratios in the sports coupe class.

Infiniti's DAS 2.0 brings improved levels of steering feel and feedback to the Q60, and the Drive Mode Selector gives drivers the option to personalize the steering's precise responses to suit their preferences.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/20/2016 page13)