Automotive News Canada - August 2022 - 26

26
* AUGUST 2022
Plugging away,
in its own way
As it bides time on EVs,
Infiniti looks to spark
a product revival
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
IF INFINITI APPEARS TO BE LATE TO
the electric-vehicle party, it's only an
appearance, said brand chairman Peyman
Kargar.
" We are planning to arrive by fiscal-year
2025, which is the right timing for
us, " he said July 15 at a leadership roundtable
at Nissan Canada Inc. headquarters
in Mississauga, Ont.
" Looking at the
markets where we are
and looking at the way
we are renewing our
models ... we are not
late. "
Kargar: Unlike
some brands,
Infiniti is taking
its time rolling
out electric
vehicles, in
the interim
preparing
its dealers
and waiting
for the EV
infrastructure
to develop.
FILE PHOTO
According to Jason
Morrey, general manager
of Morrey Infiniti
of Burnaby, B.C.,
however, customers
are inquiring about
EVs now.
" We need an EV
yesterday. We get customers
asking all the
time. "
Luxury rivals are
already wading into
the EV market. BMW
has three models
available in Canada
and the Audi e-tron
and e-tron Sportback
are on sale. MercedesBenz
has launched its EQS Sedan while
planning the arrival of the EQS utility
vehicle late this year. Others are not far
behind. Production of the new Cadillac
Lyriq began this spring and Lexus plans
to add the RZ 450e hatchback this fall.
Electrification is part of a transformation
plan that Infiniti began executing
in January 2021, but the priority is
to counter flagging sales.
Infiniti sold 5,838 vehicles in
Canada last year, according to the
Automotive News Research & Data
Center. That's a 47-per-cent decline from
the 10,974 sold in pre-pandemic 2019 and a
54-per-cent drop from the high-water mark
of 12,581 sold in 2018.
Eighteen months into the turnaround,
the updated version of the Infiniti QX60
crossover and the new QX55, a coupe-style
version of the QX50, have given the brand
a " healthy base, " Kargar said.
" We achieved the first phase of the
transformation plan. This is rock-solid.
Now, what we are going to do in the second
phase is to build on that. "
Before 2025, Kargar said, Infiniti will
update its flagship QX80 large utility vehicle
as well as set the stage for a pair of EVs
arriving mid-decade that will herald in the
third phase.
SALES DOWN, HOPES UP
The new vehicles and the road map for
the 2020s have brought a sense of optimism
to Infiniti's Canadian dealer body
after several years of sluggish sales.
The vehicle lineup was " very stale "
INFINITI SALES IN CANADA
12,000
15,000
3,000
6,000
9,000
Source: Automotive News
Research & Data Center
Infiniti " nailed it " with
the updated QX60, said
Ontario dealer Mark
Falkenberg. PHOTO: INFINITI
until 2021, said Mark Falkenberg, owner
of the Willowdale Automotive Group
of Vaughan, Ont., which has Infiniti of
Willowdale and a share in Newmarket
Infiniti-Nissan. But with the launch last
fall of the updated QX60, he said, Infiniti
" nailed it. "
" For the first time in a long time, we
are enjoying more conquest sales
than loyalty sales, " Falkenberg
told Automotive News Canada.
" That's because the product is
hitting the right category. "
Morrey is equally optimistic.
" Things are definitely going in
the right direction, " he said, particularly
with the launch of the
QX60. " It's going over extremely
well.
" Obviously, we would like
more, and that's going to come
in the near future as production
improves. "
Infiniti sold 1,036 QX60s
through the first six months of
2022, up nearly 51 per cent from
the 687 it sold in the same period
of 2021.
Falkenberg and Morrey have
little doubt that the brand will
begin moving higher volumes
once the industrywide supply
chain problems are resolved.
EVS CAN WAIT
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Inventory is likely to remain tight until
at least mid-2023. Kargar said that remains
the top concern for Canadian dealers, but
he expects the microchip shortage to linger
through at least the first half of next year.
Electrified models are not far down the
list of dealer priorities, Kargar said. But
unlike other brands that have laid out
aggressive plans to electrify their lineups,
Infiniti is taking a staged approach, prepping
its dealers and waiting for EV infrastructure
before coming to market.
Falkenberg is comfortable with the
timeline.
Falkenberg:
" For the first
time in a long
time, we are
enjoying more
conquest sales
than loyalty
sales. ... The
product is
hitting the right
category. "
PHOTO: LINKEDIN
" We're behind the eight-ball
on [EVs], " he said. " But candidly,
I'm not worried. "
Unlike Morrey in B.C.,
Falkenberg is not seeing much
demand for EVs in the Greater
Toronto area so far. Instead of
rushing a vehicle to market to
compete in the segment immediately,
he said, Infiniti will be
fine-tuning its design.
" The great part about that is
if we have the right product that
comes out, we kick some a-- at
that point, " Falkenberg said.
The performance of the
QX55 and QX60 have exceeded
Morrey's expectations, but " in
a perfect world, I would like to
have EVs and these volume vehicles. "
Infiniti's
first EV, a sedan
built alongside its Nissan
counterpart at the automaker's plant in
Canton, Miss., is set to arrive in 2025.
Kargar acknowledged that another EV
is in the works for mid-decade, but he
declined to provide details.
The brand has committed to electrifying
the majority of its lineup by 2030.
- ANC
Infiniti, Nissan stores join in one footprint, but separately
The idea is to cut operating
costs; Infiniti expects 70
per cent of its stores to
be connected to Nissan
locations by 2025
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
A YEAR AFTER INFINITI CANADA
said it would allow dealers to merge standalone
Infiniti locations with Nissan stores,
some retailers have begun the process.
" We have had several dealers that are
taking us up on that, and they're in various
stages of construction, " Steve Rhind,
managing director of Infiniti Canada,
said during a July 15 leadership roundtable
at Nissan Canada's headquarters in
Mississauga, Ont.
In 2020, about 40 per cent of Infiniti
stores were connected to Nissan locations,
the company said. By 2025, it expects 70
per cent. Infiniti has 38 dealerships in
Canada, meaning about 11 stand-alone
stores are likely to merge with Nissan
locations over the next three years.
Rhind cited the example of St-Bruno
Infiniti, near Montreal. The new Infiniti
showroom is an addition to the existing
Nissan dealership, he said.
" It's a very separate showroom, quite
a unique experience
for the customer . . . to
make sure it preserves
the Infiniti-ness, " he
said.
In Metro
Rhind: Nissan
and Infiniti
stores that
share the
same rooftop
will remain
distinctive
to preserve
the brand's
" Infiniti-ness. "
FILE PHOTO
Vancouver, Morrey
Auto Group began
work in September to
bring its Infiniti and
Nissan dealerships
together, in a " fixedwall
exclusive operation, "
said Jason
Morrey, general manager
of Morrey Infiniti
of Burnaby.
" We are working
through a renovation
to combine the two
brands and obviously
share a lot of resources, "
Morrey told
Automotive News Canada. The customer
touch points will remain separate, preserving
the luxury element of the Infiniti
experience, he said.
The new showroom for St-Bruno Infiniti
near Montreal is an addition to the
Nissan store. PHOTO: INFINITI
The consolidation plan was disclosed
last summer amid flagging Infiniti sales:
5,838 vehicles in 2021, a 47-per-cent decline
from the 10,974 sold in pre-pandemic 2019,
and less than half its high-water mark of
12,581 vehicles sold in 2018.
Giving dealers the option to merge their
Infiniti and Nissan stores was a significant
reversal for the company which had
spent years encouraging dealers to establish
separate footprints.
About 85 per cent of Infiniti Canada
dealers also own Nissan stores.
Co-locating stores is part of a wider
plan to promote financial synergies
across Nissan and Infiniti, said Infiniti
Chairman Peyman Kargar. Keeping customer-facing
aspects of the brands separate
remains a priority, however.
" We will not compromise anything on
the specificities of the brand. That's clear
in showrooms, in
product, in design, in
technology, et cetera, "
he said. But where the
two brands can share
resources, such as in
the back office or service
department, it
will help cut costs,
Kargar said.
The company
recently adjusted
its corporate reporting
structure to
accomplish similar
reductions.
On April 1, Infiniti
Canada was officially
Morrey: The
Infiniti customer
touch points will
remain separate
from Nissan's.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
made a " full-fledged business unit " under
Nissan Canada Inc. Infiniti Canada previously
reported to its U.S. and global affiliates,
independently of Nissan Canada.
The change will allow the brands to
share back-office resources more effectively
and take a regional approach to sales, said
Nissan Canada President Steve Milette.
" Now we make whatever the best decision
is for our Canadian market. " - ANC
Automotive News Canada - August 2022

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