With demand growing for luxury cars in China and other fast-growing Asian markets, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. has announced that Infiniti will locate its new global headquarters in Hong Kong. The move comes as Infiniti seeks to lift total global sales to 500,000 vehicles a year, as part of Nissan’s six-year mid-term business plan, Nissan Power 88.
“As Infiniti grows its presence in the global luxury markets of North America, Europe, China and South East Asia, we selected Hong Kong as the optimum location for our new global Infiniti headquarters,” said Andy Palmer, Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. “We see an opportunity to reinforce Asian hospitality within the Infiniti brand, distinct from both Nissan and our facing luxury competitors. We are proud to be the only automaker that will call Hong Kong home,” he added. [click to continue…]
Capping off a successful year that saw Infiniti, in partnership with Red Bull Racing, achieving wide success into Formula One, Nissan will head to Argentina in early November for the final round of this year’s FIA GT1 World Championship. With their success in motorsports during 2011, they’ve now set their sights on a double-Championship victory.
Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr enter the race weekend in the #23 JRM Racing Nissan GT-R at the Lago Potrero de los Funes circuit in San Luis as leaders in the GT1 Drivers’ Championship standings. JRM is a close second in the Teams’ Championship. With the possibility of points for the Qualifying and Championship races, Krumm, Luhr and JRM will be going for race victory inspired by those who have been triumphant in Nissan colors this year.
Simon Sproule, Nissan’s Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing Communications, said: “Our great results in motorsport in 2011 are testament to the efforts and talents of many people – teams of drivers, technicians, engineers and plenty of others behind the scenes – who have worked hard to ensure that the Nissan name has been at the top of the standings wherever we’ve competed this year.
“The success owes much to Nissan’s rich motorsport heritage at iconic races such as Le Mans, as well as the engineering excellence inherent in road vehicles like the 370Z and GT-R. There is a lot of crossover between road and track technology, and we constantly strive to apply what we learn from motorsport into our production models, and not just at the high performance end of the range. That is why motorsport, and being the best, is so very important to Nissan.”
Already certified by the team at Guiness World Records as the fastest-accelerating hybrid on the planet, the Infiniti M35h set another important benchmark recently, this time showcasing the greener side of its nature: The high-powered, high-efficiency M35h won the hybrid class in the 2011 ALD Automotive/Shell FuelSave MPG Marathon, becoming the only hybrid vehicle to better its official combined mileage ratings in the event. [click to continue…]
For an automotive brand that’s expanding into new global markets there’s perhaps no better way to reach consumers than sponsoring a Formula 1 racing team. Infiniti chose well when it picked Red Bull Racing’s team, which was already home to the 2010 world champion, Sebastian Vettel.The 24-year-old German driver is an Infiniti Global Brand Ambassador.
Vettel captured the 2011 title over the weekend after placing 3rd in the Japanese Grand Prix. With back-to-back titles, Vettel is now the youngest driver to score a point, capture pole position, win a race, win a championship and win two in a row. He clinched the title with an insurmountable 114-point lead with four races to go.
Vettel is known for being an exuberant winner and one who gives credit to his team for the success he’s achieved.
“I want to thank all the guys and girls in the factory in Milton Keynes, as it’s not just us here pushing very hard, it’s them as well – from the post office to the design office to the engineering office here at the track, their effort is just incredible,” he said after the race.
The next goal for Red Bull Racing is to capture the Constructor’s Championship, which brings millions of dollars with it. There is an indirect corporate relationship between Infiniti and RBR: the team uses Renault engines, Renault holds a large stake in Infiniti parent Nissan.
While the word “unique” is often used to describe sport sedans that are anything but, it’s truly the right term for the new 2012 Infiniti M Hybrid: The car is the only vehicle on the road today capable of delivering both 360 hp and 32 mpg highway, and that’s on top of its standard high level of Infiniti-grade amenities. This impressive balance of attributes is certain to change how people think about four-door performance vehicles, and hybrids as well.
The key is the Infiniti Direct Response Hybrid system, an innovative powertrain that leverages a one-motor, two-clutch parallel hybrid system to deliver the linear power delivery and superior acceleration expected from any Infiniti, along with the kind of fuel efficiency expected from a mainstream four-cylinder sedan. [click to continue…]
Formula One World Champions Red Bull Racing Renault signed a marketing agreement with Infiniti for the 2011 and 2012 Formula One racing seasons. The agreement between Red Bull Racing, Infiniti and the Renault-Nissan Alliance allows the brand to take advantage of both the marketing and technical activities involved in Formula One racing.
Infiniti will have a visible branding image on race cars, driver’s clothing, team uniforms and other racing equipment. The agreement also allows them to work with Renault engines in order to create future technical collaboration with the world class team.
Online research and word-of-mouth recommendations are two powerful resources for today’s new-vehicle shoppers, but there’s just one company that has the confidence to offer a one-stop Internet source for both: Infiniti.
The luxury brand has become the first automaker to provide consumer-generated ratings and reviews on its own website at www.InfinitiUSA.com. Some 900 reviews on seven separate Infiniti vehicles were added to the site to kick off the new effort, with more on the way. And while these initial efforts were gathered via Infiniti customer-communications efforts, the brand will soon add functionality to its website that allows users to upload their reviews and comments directly. [click to continue…]
In an effort to lure younger buyers to showrooms, Infiniti has introduced a new base model to the popular G line for 2011. This new model is named the G25 and it’s powered by a new 2.5-liter V6 engine. This smaller unit helps bring the base price of the G sedan down to a highly competitive $30,950.
The new G25 Sedan promises to share the same dynamic exterior, interior and chassis as the G37 Sedan. However, thanks to a smaller displacement engine, the G25 boasts better fuel economy than its more powerful sibling. Like the G37, the G25 features a 7-speed automatic transmission and can be had with rear-wheel drive or intelligent all-wheel drive. [click to continue…]
Infiniti earned two prestigious honors in the 12th annual ALG Residual Value Awards. First, Nissan’s luxury division was named the overall “2011 Best Luxury Brand.” Additionally, Infiniti took the prize for the “Best Luxury Fullsize Utility” thanks to the all-new 2011 Infiniti QX56.
“It‘s an honor to be recognized as having the highest projected resale value of any luxury brand in America,” said Infiniti Vice President Ben Poore. “The Way of Infiniti is all about providing the best experience for our customers, from the day they first walk into an Infiniti showroom throughout the entire ownership experience. This recognition from ALG is another assurance to our clients that they can purchase an Infiniti with confidence.” [click to continue…]
The striking Infiniti FX is no doubt one of the most dramatically designed high-performance crossovers on the market today, with a sleek exterior, opulent luxury features and an available 390-hp V8 for pulse-pounding acceleration. And though it’s no surprise that Infiniti has made key additions to the FX for 2011, what may shock some people is what the automaker didn’t add: A price increase. In fact, the Infiniti FX35 wears an MSRP that starts $1,250 lower than last year’s model, while the FX50 benefits from a price reduction of $2,600 as compared to the 2010 version.
The 2011 FX35, packing a potent 3.5-liter 24-valve V6 that’s capable of generating 303 hp and 262 lb.-ft. of torque, will offer a base MSRP of $41,600 in its rear-wheel-drive configuration and a price of $43,050 when outfitted with all-wheel drive. The price of admission to the 2011 FX50, with its pavement-blistering 5.0-liter V8 and all-wheel-drive-only setup, begins at $56,400. All FX models rely on Nissan’s advanced seven-speed automatic transmission, which offers Adaptive Shift Control, Downshift Rev Matching and optional paddle shifters made from solid magnesium. [click to continue…]
