Dongfeng Nissan "absorbed" Infiniti

Text/Leju Finance Jin Wenyu

As a second-tier luxury brand, Infiniti has long been not high in the Chinese market, but it has been frequently ridiculed in the matter of choosing a spokesperson.

In May 2011, Gao Xiaosong was sentenced to 184 days in prison after driving a Four-car rear-end collision that drove an Infiniti SUV. In 2013, Wu Xiubo became the spokesman for Infiniti, but Wu Xiubo was banned for scandals such as personal derailment.

At the end of 2021, just when netizens were still immersed in the endless melon field, Infiniti, which had almost no sense of existence in the Chinese market, was unexpectedly on the hot search for a high-quality idol.

This time, Infiniti launched a new car after six years, originally wanted to attract a wave of heat with traffic, but watched its spokesperson collapse within a day, and could only urgently terminate the contract. From the signing of the contract to the termination of only 35 hours, Infiniti has not been able to escape the fate of the worst brand owners.

The "Wang Lihong Incident" may have become the last straw that overwhelmed Infiniti. Infiniti, which has been very marginalized in the luxury car market, was eventually "absorbed" by Dongfeng Nissan due to sluggish sales in China.

On January 5, 2022, Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. announced that Dongfeng Infiniti will be included in Dongfeng Nissan's management system as an independent business headquarters. Infiniti will also become the third brand under Dongfeng Nissan after Nissan and Venucia.

Dongfeng Motor said that the integration of Infiniti into the Dongfeng Nissan system is to promote the development of strategic business and achieve high-quality operations. However, some insiders believe that Dongfeng Infiniti's small size as an independent unit and its operating costs are too high, which is the main reason why it has been downgraded from an independent company to Dongfeng Nissan Division.

Sales fell five times in a row

According to public information, the Infiniti brand was founded in 1987 and entered the Chinese market in 2006; in 2014, Dongfeng Motor Company and Nissan Motor Company jointly established Dongfeng Infiniti according to the 50:50 share ratio, and the localization project was officially landed. Despite Nissan Motor's luxury brand, Dongfeng Infiniti has been operating independently of Dongfeng Nissan after its localization.

After the establishment of the joint venture, Infiniti launched two domestically produced models, the Q50L and QX50, in November 2014 and March 2015. According to the plan, in the next 3 to 5 years, Dongfeng Infiniti will expand the model range by 60%, and is expected to achieve the sales target of 100,000 vehicles in 2018.

But this goal was like a distant promise, and for six years, the brand did not launch any new models in China. Until December 16, 2021, the third model Infiniti QX60 was launched, with a price range of 450,000 to 660,000 yuan.

From Infiniti's sales data in recent years, it is also lackluster. In 2014, Infiniti became famous by sponsoring the national variety show "Where Daddy Goes". Between 2014 and 2015, Infiniti's sales in China soared.

However, since 2016, Infiniti's global sales have declined for five consecutive years. According to the data of the Association, from January to November 2021, Dongfeng Infiniti's total sales volume was only 7691 vehicles, down 65% year-on-year, falling to the lowest level since domestic production in 2014, and has come to the brink of delisting in the Chinese market.

Product "Thunderstorm"

In addition to the sluggish market response caused by the slow product layout, Infiniti has also caused numerous complaints due to the quality problems of the car itself, and has initiated a number of recalls in China, involving engines, transmissions, steering, transmissions, airbags and other core components.

As early as April 2016, Infiniti recalled 57,600 cars because the airbag could not pop up properly, more than the brand's total sales in China in one year; in April 2020, Infiniti recalled more than 54,000 cars due to engine oil leakage, almost the total sales in China in the past two years.

At the 2021 "315" party, Infiniti became one of the two car brands named by CCTV due to the failure of the imported QX60 gearbox. Many Infiniti QX60 owners reported that their cars had throttle failures, brake failures, engine jitters, and steering wheel loss due to transmissions. In a group of 500 riders, more than 200 people had a breakdown.

For car owners during the warranty period, although the gearbox can be replaced free of charge, the fault can never be fundamentally solved; and the owner who leaves the warranty period needs to spend up to 140,000-150,000 yuan for maintenance and replacement. This exposure has undoubtedly brought more negative effects to Infiniti's brand and product image in China.

Sales continued to be sluggish, forcing Infiniti into a vicious circle of "price for market", and its main models were generally preferential to more than 50,000 yuan, resulting in serious damage to the interests of dealers, with annual losses ranging from 1 million to 5 million yuan. According to the "Survey Report on The Satisfaction of Automobile Dealers to Manufacturers" released by the Automobile Dealers Chamber of Commerce of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Infiniti dealer satisfaction ranks only third from the bottom among all car companies.

"Degrade" signal

Infiniti merged into the Dongfeng Nissan system, as if it were a reincarnation. As early as 2012, when the Infiniti brand was promoting localization, Dongfeng Company had discussed with Nissan whether Infiniti could be included in the management of Dongfeng Nissan as a high-end brand.

At that time, in the Chinese auto market, the joint venture camp was full of smoke, north and south Volkswagen and SAIC-GM ranked in the first camp, Dongfeng Nissan, Beijing Hyundai and Changan Ford ranked second camp, they took products and technology, and repeatedly launched attacks on the first camp.

SAIC-GM's brand structure is relatively perfect, with Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet under it, and Dongfeng Nissan hopes to form a comprehensive confrontation with Infiniti through the brand blessing of Infiniti, and then impact the first camp of the joint venture. As seen from the outside world, this ideal was once unsuccessful for various reasons.

By July 2021, news of Infiniti's return to Dongfeng Nissan had gone viral on the Internet. In December, it was also reported that Infiniti's China headquarters would be moved from Beijing to Guangzhou at the beginning of this year, and that Infiniti would be responsible for Infiniti's operations in China as dongfeng Nissan's headquarters.

For this rumor, Infiniti China did not respond at that time, and now Dongfeng Motor's "official announcement" confirms the authenticity of the above "rumors". After being incorporated this time, it seems that Infiniti was relegated, but at the same time, it may also be an opportunity for Infiniti to develop again.

Some industry insiders have analyzed that Infiniti can share technology and production lines such as Dongfeng Nissan to reduce costs, and Infiniti in the next stage may be more affordable in terms of price. And this also won a transition time for Infiniti's development in China. For Dongfeng Nissan, after its integration of Infiniti, it has three major brands of Nissan, Venucia and Infiniti, and how to make the three major brands develop in synergy while also reflecting the differentiated operation between brands has become one of the key contents to be considered in the future.