Crossing the Blues

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Infiniti enters Western Europe

Nissan will bring its luxury brand Infiniti to Western Europe next year with cars going on sale in the fourth quarter of 2008. Jim Wright, head of Infiniti Europe, expects the United Kingdom and Germany to be Infiniti's most important markets. In Europe, Infiniti currently operates in Ukraine and Russia.

Wright remains cautious about the German market, stating that "we have no ambition to imitate the German manufacturers, since we would fail at that." Wright has set an annual sales target of 500 units per dealership to be achieved by 2013 through a channel of 12 to 14 dealerships spread across the country. In order to convey exclusivity, Infiniti dealerships will not be incorporated with Nissan outlets. The Infiniti G-series will be Infiniti's first model on the European market.