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Infiniti to launch first electric car, to be made in China

BEIJING — The first electric car for Nissan's premium brand Infiniti will be a sporty sedan produced in China, the Japanese carmaker said in a statement viewed by Reuters ahead of a public announcement expected as soon as Wednesday. The vehicle would hit the market in around three years, and consumers would get a taste when the company unveils a concept car, dubbed the Qs Inspiration electric sedan, at the Shanghai auto show later this week, Nissan officials said. "China has the most growth potential for electric vehicles globally, especially in the premium segment," Infiniti Chairman Christian Meunier said in the statement seen by Reuters. Automakers operating in China have to sell more so-called new-energy vehicles, either battery electric cars or plug-in electric hybrids, to comply with official production quotas designed to reduce smog. It was not immediately clear whether Infiniti planned to produce its first electric vehicle in other markets. An Infiniti spokesman said, however, the brand did not intend to export the e-sedan from China. The planned e-sedan is part of Infiniti's longer-term strategy to significantly electrify its product lineup. Brand officials have said that from 2021 every Infiniti model launched will be either an all-electric car or so-called "e-Power" hybrids, underlining Nissan's previously announced plan to make Infiniti primarily an electrified offering. The sedan likely would be built on a new flexible architecture developed specifically to accommodate electrified powertrains, Infiniti said in the statement. Its design, especially the interior, would be significantly different than current models, design chief Karim Habib said. EVs do not have bulky gasoline engines and transmissions, opening up space inside the car. "It will have a flat floor, and if you are a passenger you can cross your legs or stretch out your legs," Habib told Reuters. Competition in China's rapidly emerging electric car market is heating up amid an onslaught of models from startups such as Nio and WM Motor, as well as those from established automakers. In the luxury segment, Infiniti will be competing with Tesla Model S and Model X, as well as other models due to be launched in coming months by Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus.

2019 Infiniti QX50 gets fancy-pants Autograph interior

The 2019 Infiniti QX50 has primarily garnered attention around car enthusiast circles for its variable compression engine. It's a marvel of engineering that uniquely changes its compression ratio to maximize power and fuel efficiency. It can also switch between Atkinson and regular combustion cycles, utilize multi-point or direct injection, it's turbocharged, and even features an electric motor that controls the variable compression ratio. Nifty stuff, but it seems likely that all that technobabble will make the average buyer of Infiniti's new compact SUV go crosseyed. It may not even be mentioned. "It has an engine? Great, let me see the inside." Well, dear car shopper who doesn't give a hoot about the greasy bits, have we got a bit of QX50 news for you. Infiniti has announced the QX50 Autograph package, a special $2,000 option with a seriously upgraded interior. Fancier materials and unique color schemes were selected, drawing inspiration from luxury beach resorts and being awfully similar to those found in the latest Pantone Fashion Color Trend Report. It's probably best to turn things over to the press release at this point. "Starting with warmer color tones, the rich chocolate brown replicates wood applications in the (beach) resort and the surrounding trees, followed by a creamy off-white representing the sand on a beach. The highlights of a cooler dark navy blue on the center console, reminiscent of ocean water, strike the proper balance between warm and cool, creating a comfortable, yet invigorating environment." Have you gone crosseyed? Well, now you know how it feels when describing the greasy bits to a non car person. Those cream, brown and blue bits are the Pantone colors, which, respectively, are known as "Coconut Milk," "Emperador" and "Sailor Blue." In the QX50, the Sailor Blue-esque blue is applied to the center console, dash and doors in Ultrasuede. The Emperadorish brown is on the steering wheel, leather-wrapped dash top and doors, outer portions of the seats and the lower door portions. Coconut Milk is indicative of the creamy dash color and the seat leather, which is diamond-quilted and contrast-stitched. There's also open-pore wood trim. Though I made light of this, the QX50 Autograph interior is actually quite striking. As Infiniti points out, consumers are starting to embrace color, which is worth celebrating. Give me Coconut Milk, Emperador and Sailor Blue over beige, grey and black any day.

Infiniti Formula One-inspired Q60 Project Black S has been canned

Infiniti gave enthusiasts a preview of what a high-performance hybrid coupe equipped with Formula One-derived technology could look like when it released the Q60-based Black S concept in 2017. While executives hinted the 563-horsepower model could reach production sooner rather than later, the company confirmed it's been axed. Industry trade journal Automotive News learned the concept was consigned to the automotive attic from an Infiniti spokesman. He pointed out the design study "continues to inspire us," but he didn't explain why the Black S won't reach production. We're not surprised by the decision, though. It was a complex, eye-wateringly expensive version of a slow-selling model unveiled in 2015. Making the numbers add up was likely easier said than done.  Interestingly, many Infiniti dealers didn't want the Black S. "In today's market, a premium Japanese performance coupe has to be very low volume. Anything that Infiniti produces for its dealers, we want it to be a volume product. We're not really in the racing business. I would much rather see something like the QX60. That's a volume vehicle, that's where this company needs to go," opined Ed Lennon, the chairman of the Infiniti National Dealer Advisory Board, in an interview with Automotive News. Unveiled at the 2017 edition of the Geneva auto show, and presented again the following year in Paris, the Black S was powered by a gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain built around the twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 that powers the Q60 Red Sport 400. It worked with three motor-generator units similar to the ones found in the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) fitted to Formula One cars. One spun the rear wheels, and the others were connected to the turbochargers to eliminate lag and deliver instant boost. Infiniti quoted a sub-four-second sprint to 60 mph. Hybrid technology adds weight, and Formula One-like components are no exception. Infiniti noted the drivetrain weighed 441 pounds more than the Red Sport 400's V6. Had it been built, the Black S would have relied extensively on carbon fiber to keep weight in check, and it would have offered a 50/50 weight distribution. Much has changed since 2017, however. Roland Krueger, the former Infiniti CEO who championed the project, left the company in January 2019 to lead Dyson's ill-fated automotive unit. Infiniti announced plans to exit the European market later that year, and it ended its participation in Formula One in 2020.