Infiniti Culls Another Hybrid From Its Lineup

Who isn’t talking about the Infiniti Q70? Okay, maybe more than a few people. The Infiniti brand’s largest passenger car enjoys low but fairly stable sales, returning volume in the high 5,000s in both 2017 and 2016.

Alongside the rear-drive, V6- or V8-powered four-door was a hybrid variant, but that green companion dies for 2019 — leaving just one gas-electric model in the Infiniti stable.

Powered by a 3.5-liter V6/electric motor combo, the hybrid put its combined 360 horsepower to the road through a seven-speed automatic. The model debuted as the M35h back in 2011, before Infiniti decided to rearrange some letters in its model names.

The premium brand announced the Q70 Hybrid is “no longer offered” as it rolled out changes to its lineup for the 2019 model year. While the green sedan bites the dust, the regular Q70 continues on with a 3.7-liter V6 or 5.6-liter V8 beneath its hood, patiently awaiting a new body and platform swap that should come in 2020. That change would see the Q70 revert to front-wheel drive.

The Q70’s future — or near future, anyway — seems assured, given the model’s stable sales and Infiniti’s recent release of a flagship concept sedan. Big cars haven’t disappeared from Infiniti design boards, even though the words “large Infiniti” still conjure up images of the old Q45. As per company plans, all new models will boast hybrid variants.

While the midsize Q50 sedan still offers a hybrid version, the Q70 Hybrid’s demise, plus that of the QX60 Hybrid, means Infiniti enters 2019 looking not all that green. Not that Q70 Hybrids were thick on the ground. In the first half of 2018, Infiniti sold 26 of them. The same period last year saw the brand unload 33.

[Image: Infiniti]