Infiniti banking on Diamler technical alliance for European markets

The technical alliance with Daimler has given Nissan's Infiniti brand the chance to get into the European market. It has taken just 18 months to develop the Infiniti Q30 using Mercedes' MFA platform. Infiniti chief Johan de Nyssen said, "We were in a hurry to get a European car on the road and the alliance with Daimler gave us that opportunity".

It's true that Infiniti is struggling to find its feet in Europe against the 3 German giants. USA and China are the two big growth markets for Infiniti. Johan added saying, "In all our markets I am not so much concerned with our volumes or market share; I am more concerned about the quality of our sales and making a profit."

Infiniti is currently building a new plant in China's Hubei province which will be functional next year and will initially work on the long wheelbase version of its Q50 which will also be added to the assembly operations later. Infiniti's marketing strategy and dealer network is also a major concern for the company. The company's chief believe is that the brand can gain a competitive edge over its German rivals in Europe by having very lean distribution.

Johan further mentioned that "There is little point in having lots of dealers. We can show off the brand through a small number of flagship showrooms supported by little boutiques closer to the customers and ultimately a 'virtual' showroom in terms of aftersales and service, we can plug into the existing network of our parent company - that's part of our 10 year plan."