Infiniti Joins Mazda in the Hybrid-free Zone

While popularity varies among brands, hybrids remain a tough sell in today’s marketplace, despite half of all automaker-produced literature going towards the touting of their environmental cred. Still, few automakers stand apart from the crowd by not offering a green vehicle of some sort, even if it’s a low-volume, rarely-heard-about offering aimed at satisfying the EPA.

Infiniti, which recently deep-sixed its Q70 Hybrid (not long after jettisoning the QX60 Hybrid), has now done the same with the gas-electric version of the Q50 midsize sedan. It’s a confusing product time at Infiniti, with new models arriving as others depart. This isn’t the end of green vehicles for Nissan’s luxury marque, however. Hybrid power will return, just not in the same form.

Green Car Reports broke the OEM-confirmed news late last week. With the Q50 Hybrid discontinued, Infiniti finds itself among a small number of automakers without an electrified vehicle.

We singled out Mazda in the headline, though Subaru also makes the grade — at least, until the Crosstrek plug-in hybrid appears later this year in certain U.S. states. Given the Q50 Hybrid’s low profile, sales couldn’t have been too hot. And nor was the Q50 Hybrid hot stuff when it came to technology. The model kept its 3.5-liter V6, supplementing its power with that of an electric motor. Two-wheel drive models earned a 29 mpg rating on the EPA’s combined cycle.

The electrification strategy outlined by Infiniti last year promises a slew of hybrid and electric vehicles over the next five years, but a bit of Nissan tech already in use in Japan will serve as the backbone of the hybrid effort. We’ve written about it before: e-Power. It’s a hybrid system where a downsized gasoline generation runs constantly, but doesn’t ever power the drive wheels.

Earlier this year, Philippe Klein, the automaker’s chief planning officer, said the technology would make it to the U.S. for use in higher-end vehicles that can more easily absorb the cost of the system. e-Power debuted in the low-cost, Japanese-market Nissan Versa Note hatchback. Before it appears in U.S.-market Infinitis, however, company engineers must first beef up the system to handle heavier vehicles.

[Image: © Corey Lewis/TTAC]