Infiniti European Sales : 2010-2019 (Part 2)

Infiniti got a cool reception in Europe

I recall being in a shopping mall in Christchurch, NZ a few years back and within the walking precincts was an iridescent pinkish Infiniti QX30. I peered through the window and thought it had a nice interior and I was impressed. What I didn't know was that soon the marque would soon beat a hasty retreat from NZ and many other markets, Europe being part of that and will now address that aspect.

Looking at European sales by model, the 2010 range was the FX (later QX70) medium / large crossover that went until 2017 and 11,350 were sold in the period under discussion. Then the G (Q50) medium sized car which runs the full timeline below and gained 13,675 registrations in that time. The EX (QX50) compact / medium crossover didn't sell too well and was dropped around 2015 with less than 2,000 registrations. Finally the M (Q70) large car that again wasn't that popular and sales petered out from 2017 with 3,400 sold.

Added since then was the Q60 coupe which replaced part of the G range. It was not a big selling vehicle but compared to how the brand was received in Europe, it sold in reasonable numbers (1,200). Finally Nissan turned to Mercedes for its compact hatchback. Unlike other models in the range, this would have a European heritage so bound to hit the right spot, right?

That was the theory behind the Q30 but the reality was different. It did become the best selling model by some margin but not the numbers hoped for (20,375). The higher riding QX30 I would have thought would have gone well but sales never got near to 2,000 in a calendar year. I have to say that doesn't make any sense to me. 

The initial target set for the Euro assault was 100,000 units per annum including Russia and Turkey which are included in the figures below. When the Russian economy hit a wall and Turkey was a flop, the rest of Europe wasn't even going to do its bit, let alone make up the shortfall. In early 2019 the announcement came of a withdrawal from Europe. Local assembly of the Q/QX30 ended mid-year and the marque gone from the region by early 2020.

At the bottom of the chart are Q/QX30 production numbers at the Nissan plant in the UK. There would have been some made in late 2015 but I don't have that data. What it shows is that while these models were aimed mainly at Europe, two thirds of production went elsewhere. Of course, Infiniti is much larger in North America but they're not big on small cars so while what was sold there was as expected, the poor take up in Europe became the issue.

What can we learn from this? That jumping into a market with a premium product is going to take time and patience. The initial numbers expected were acceptable but too much of that relied on one country (Russia). The rest of Europe was always going to be a hard sell. Lexus has not won over Europe (especially Germany) but Toyota is taking a long term approach. Nissan needed to do the same.

The big difference is Toyota can afford to take its time but Nissan didn't have that luxury and was conscious of what the exercise was costing. The decision to depart was made. It was the right decision but the lesson is clear. European premium buyers are conservative and particularly obsessed with German marques. If you don't have the resources to be patient, then best not to try.