Infiniti Grabs a Diesel and Expands Down Under, But Only With Help
On Tuesday, Infiniti announced it would enter a new market for the brand, bringing gasoline and diesel wares to New Zealand. New markets can be tough for manufacturers to crack, but don’t worry — Infiniti isn’t alone in this.
In order to grab a piece of the New Zealand sales pie, Infiniti has partnered with a distribution company to move its metal across the country. Global Motors NZ Limited has invested in Infiniti to carry out this business venture. According to Google, Global Motors is a used car dealer in Auckland, but its website is currently non-functional.
The product offensive starts off small, with only three models coming to port: the Q50, QX70, and QX80. While North Americans drivers are undoubtedly familiar with all three of those models, the QX70 (nee FX) entry will be a bit different in New Zealand. Under the hood a V6 diesel engine will reside — an option which has thus far been unobtainable in North America. Not a new boy, the V9X diesel has been found in overseas-market Infiniti, Nissan, and Renault products since 2010.
Citing 230,000 units sold across the globe, and 6,700 vehicles in the Asia and Oceania markets, Infiniti views New Zealand as an excellent growth opportunity. Bringing over SUV options first makes sense, as according to New Zealand Autocar, 35 percent of overall registrations in New Zealand are for SUVs.
In their report from last year, Autocar indicated the idea was for Infiniti to launch independently from Nissan NZ (which did occur) and to pursue a full lineup of SUV-only models at launch (which didn’t). Lacking from the launch are the QX30, QX50, and QX60 SUVs. In addition, the Q60 coupe and Q70/Q70L large sedan are not yet available.
Infiniti will start out with two dealerships in major New Zealand cities: Auckland and Christchurch. Those dealers will be tasked with selling just 37.5 percent of the overall Infiniti model lineup on their lots.
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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Nice piece Corey.
I hope Nissan updates the FX. More interior room and the new 3.0TTs. As the X4/6 and GLx coupes show there's a real appetite for "Sport Activity Coupes".