Infiniti Calls It Quits in Western Europe, Kills Off the QX30 for Everyone Else

by Steph Willems

March 12th, 2019 4:27 PM

infiniti calls it quits in western europe kills off the qx30 for everyone else

Western Europe doesn’t like Infiniti very much, so the Japanese premium brand has decided to hit the road. The brand’s residency in the competitive region only lasted a decade, and middling consumer interest, coupled with increasingly stringent emissions regulations, is all the reason it needs to take a hike.

In doing so, Nissan’s premium division plans to cease global production of the QX30 at its Sunderland, England assembly plant. The subcompact crossover, born of a rocky Mercedes-Benz partnership, and its overseas-only Q30 hatch sibling go belly-up in July of this year.

The QX30’s discontinuation

“Western Europe remains the most challenging and competitive region for premium cars,” Infiniti spokesman Trevor Hale told Reuters. The brand’s sales in the region sunk to 5,800 vehicles last year — roughly half of what it sold the year before.

In comparison, Infiniti sold 149,280 vehicles in the U.S. last year, only 8,101 of which were QX30s. That’s a 42.5 percent sales drop from 2017. The model first appeared in the U.S. in October of 2016.

Devoid of the plug-in hybrids and electrics European lawmakers and regulators like, Infiniti faced a future where it would need to invest heavily in green tech to stay in the region’s good books. It’s not worth the effort, the company claims.

“The commercial reality for Infiniti in western Europe is that there is simply no visibility of a viable and sustainable business, especially given the regulatory challenges,” Hale said.

[Images: © Timothy Cain/The Truth About Cars, Infiniti]

#Discontinuations #Europe #Infiniti #InfinitiQx30 #ProductPlanning #Production #UK

Comments

Join the conversation

3 of 40 comments

James Charles on Mar 13, 2019

Infiniti is just the wrong name for conjuring up a sense of prestige. Maybe Nissan need to start a new prestige brand with a worthwhile name. Infiniti are just blinged Nissans. I think all prestige and luxury marques need their own platforms to set them apart from the riff raff lower offerings.

Like Reply
- Bd2 on Mar 13, 2019
  
  In Japan, Infinitis are Nissans (when they aren't rebadged Mitsus). But one can very well say that pretty much the entire Lexus lineup (save the LS and LC) are blinged Toyotas.
  
  Like
Scott25 on Mar 13, 2019

I’m calling this being a minor collectible for weirdos in the coming years in the same vein as the Acura ZDX

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Marvin Im a current owner of a 2012 Golf R 2 Door with 5 grand on the odometer . Fun car to drive ! It's my summer cruiser. 2006 GLI with 33,000 . The R can be money pit if service by the dealership. For both cars I deal with Foreign car specialist , non union shop but they know their stuff !!! From what I gather the newer R's 22,23' too many electronic controls on the screen, plus the 12 is the last of the of the trouble free ones and fun to drive no on screen electronics Maze !
VoGhost It's very odd to me to see so many commenters reflexively attack an American company like this. Maybe they will be able to find a job with BYD or Vinfast.
VoGhost I'm clearly in the minority here, but I think this is a smart move. Apple is getting very powerful, and has slowly been encroaching on the driving experience over the last decade. Companies like GM were on the verge of turning into mere hardware vendors to the Apple brand. "Is that a new car; what did you get?" "I don't remember. But it has the latest Apple OS, which is all I care about." Taking back the driving experience before it was too late might just be GM's smartest move in a while.
VoGhost Can someone Christian explain to me what this has to do with Jesus and bunnies?
Del My father bought GM cars in the 60's, but in 1971 he gave me a used Datsun (as they were called back then), and I'm now in my 70's and am happy to say that GM has been absent from my entire adult life. This article makes me gladder than ever.