After the change of coaching in the auto grand view| can Infiniti accelerate its return to the right track?

The author | Wang Yunpeng

Produced | automotive grand view

Following the inclusion of the Dongfeng Nissan system on January 5 this year, Infiniti ushered in an important personnel adjustment.

On May 5, Dongfeng Nissan Infiniti Business Headquarters announced that from May, Xin Yu, general manager of Dongfeng Nissan Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., will concurrently serve as the head of the headquarters of Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Car Company Infiniti Business Headquarters. Wang Baojun will serve as deputy head of dongfeng nissan passenger car company Infiniti business headquarters of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. Mao Limin will serve as Vice President of Special Projects at Nissan (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and General Manager of Infiniti China Management Committee.

For the change in organizational structure and personnel management, Dongfeng Nissan Infiniti Business Headquarters said, "In order to bring together platform advantages and resource advantages, steadily promote localization strategy, greatly improve marketing capabilities, optimize management structure, continuously enrich and improve the product matrix, explore new travel business models for a wider range of consumer groups, contribute to electrification, intelligent driving, mobile Internet and shared travel services, and further tap the opportunities in the luxury car market." Lay a solid foundation for the longitudinal deepening development of the brand in the Chinese market, and become the vanguard force of Dongfeng Nissan to meet the luxury market. ”

Xin Yu, General Manager of Dongfeng Nissan Automobile Sales Co., Ltd. and Head of the Headquarters of Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company Infiniti Business Headquarters of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd

In fact, as a luxury brand with more than 30 years of history and a story, Infiniti does need to change in the Chinese market. Taking sales as an example, statistics show that Infiniti's annual sales in China in 2021 will be 13,000 vehicles, which is not to say that it cannot be compared with Lexus, even compared with second-tier luxury brands such as Cadillac, Lincoln, and Volvo.

That is to say, Infiniti, one of the "Three Musketeers of Japanese Luxury", is currently sliding beyond the edge of the luxury brand market. Moreover, whether the change of high-level personnel again can reverse the decline of Infiniti in China is still unknown.

Ups and downs for 15 years

Like other brands, Infiniti also began to expand globally after gaining a foothold in its birthplace. In 2005, Nissan Motor Company announced the "Nissan Value-Added Plan", and the Chinese market was listed as Infiniti's key market.

In 2007, Infiniti first elaborated on the Infiniti brand concept in China. Subsequently, with the exterior of the coupe SUV, the luxurious interior design and the powerful power of the VQ series engine, Infiniti became popular in the first-tier market in just a few years.

In order to accelerate the gold rush for China's auto market, Infiniti moved its headquarters to Hong Kong in 2012. Two years later, Nissan and Dongfeng jointly established Dongfeng Infiniti.

Since then, Infiniti's localization process has officially begun. However, standing at the current time node, localization has not made Infiniti's road to conquer the Chinese auto market better.

From 2014 to 2016, under the leadership of Dai Lei, then general manager of Infiniti China and Dongfeng Infiniti Automobile Co., Ltd., Dongfeng Infiniti adopted an aggressive marketing strategy. Of course, large-scale marketing has indeed increased brand awareness and greatly increased sales channels.

In terms of sales, in 2014, the first year of localization, Dongfeng Infiniti's sales increased to 30,000 vehicles, ushering in the first growth peak. In 2015, 40,200 new cars were sold, an increase of 33.8% year-on-year, making it the luxury brand with the highest growth rate that year.

However, it is more regrettable that dongfeng Infiniti's rapid growth momentum has not been sustained. In 2016, Dai Lei left, and his successor, Lu Yi, began to turn to a "conservative" marketing strategy. With the change of marketing strategy, Dongfeng Infiniti's sales growth also fell from 33.8% in 2015 to 3.4%, while the sales growth rate of second-tier luxury brands increased by 21% in the same period.

In the industry's view, the stagnation of Dongfeng Infiniti's sales growth in 2016, although there is an impact of marketing strategy shifts, but the more important reason is that under the previous Dai Lei's aggressive marketing strategy, the low marketing input-output ratio and the high inventory pressure of dealers have overdrawn the vitality of Dongfeng Infiniti.

Because of this, Dongfeng Infiniti began a two-year brand adjustment period. Among them, in 2016, it was mainly based on stabilizing the team and revitalizing channels, and in 2017, it adjusted its marketing strategy and released the "Challenger" brand strategy. After adjustment, in 2017, Dongfeng Infiniti handed over a total of 48,408 vehicles, an increase of 16.4% report card.

It is worth mentioning that the recovering sales growth rate has given Dongfeng Infiniti the courage to set more ambitious sales targets. In 2018, Dongfeng Infiniti set its target sales target at 100,000 vehicles. But the ideal is very full, and the reality is very bone. In that year, Dongfeng Infiniti's cumulative sales were only 44,000 units, down about 8% year-on-year and less than one-half of the annual sales target.

Perhaps due to the sluggish sales volume, Lu Yi left at the end of 2018, and the position of general manager of Dongfeng Infiniti Automobile Co., Ltd. and general manager of Infiniti China was taken over by Mao Limin from the Dongfeng Nissan system.

It is lamentable that the change of coach not only failed to turn the situation around, but accelerated the marginalization of Dongfeng Infiniti. In 2020, Dongfeng Infiniti sold only 29,000 vehicles, less than a fraction of its rival Lexus. In 2021, Dongfeng Infiniti continued to decline, with annual sales of only 13,000 vehicles.

In the face of such an embarrassing sales performance, on January 5 this year, Dongfeng Infiniti was "downgraded" into the Dongfeng Nissan system, and on May 5, it ushered in a new round of personnel adjustments.

Multiple issues need to be addressed urgently

Has been localized for many years, why is Dongfeng Infiniti's sales so ugly? Can a high-level adjustment alone solve the problem?

Judging from the current situation, the answer is still an unknown.

"The weak product camp and the lack of core highlights of the old technology are one of the important reasons why Infiniti is in a dilemma." Some insiders said.

And it is. Since 2014, in the past eight years, Infiniti has only produced two models - QX50 and Q50L. Entering the Dongfeng Infiniti 4S store, you can only see the Q50L, QX50 and QX30, as for the Q60, QX60, Q70 and other models can only be booked.

In contrast, Lexus, which has not been domestically produced, currently has more than 10 models in the domestic market, covering all levels of compact, mid-range, sports cars, medium-sized and large cars in terms of cars. In terms of SUVs, starting with NX, Lexus has completed coverage of the compact, mid-size, medium-sized and full-size SUV markets.

While the product camp is relatively weak, the iteration rate of Infiniti models is also very low. Taking the Q50L, which was listed in November 2014 as an example, there has only been one mid-term redesign since its listing, which is rare in the fiercely competitive domestic auto market.

In the face of such an obvious "hard injury", Mao Limin, who is currently the vice president of special projects of Nissan (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and the general manager of Infiniti China Management Committee, previously said: "In the Chinese market, it is Shenche who takes a car all over the world." ”

In addition, frequent quality problems may be another reason for Infiniti's sluggish sales.

At the March 15 evening party in 2021, Infiniti was shortlisted for a problem with the gearbox. Public reports show that for vehicles that are still in the warranty period, Dongfeng Infiniti can replace the gearbox for free, but the fault cannot be eradicated, and the vehicles that are not within the shelf life need to be repaired and replaced by the owner of 140,000-150,000 yuan.

In the face of surging public opinion, Infiniti's first thought is not how to properly solve it, but to sign a confidentiality agreement with some rights protection car owners to provide a warranty extension ranging from 10 to 20 years for the vehicle, and at the same time requires that after signing the agreement, the loss of the previous maintenance is borne by the owner, and the impact of the incident cannot be expanded through the media and other means.

In fact, Infiniti's product quality problems have a long history. It is not difficult to check the domestic third-party automobile quality complaint platform and find that Infiniti's models generally have problems such as engine oil leakage, engine shaking, inability to start, transmission noise, and body leakage.

In this case, the recall is nothing new to Infiniti. According to the information disclosed on the website of the State Administration for Market Regulation, in 2020 and 2021, Nissan (China) Investment Co., Ltd. recalled 56,000 Infiniti vehicles and 35,800 vehicles respectively.

It is worth mentioning that the double decline in sales and quality has also caused Infiniti's retention rate to be miserable. According to the "2020 China Automobile Retention Rate Report" released by the China Automobile Dealers Association, Infiniti ranks at the bottom among Japanese brands, with a three-year retention rate of only 59.05%.

In terms of brand positioning, in the face of sluggish sales, Infiniti played the "price for volume" card. Take the Q50L, whose official guidance price is 264,800-389,800 yuan, for example. At present, some dealers have lowered the price of the entry-level version of the model to less than 200,000 yuan. This price not only coincides with the price of Camry 2.0L Deluxe Edition, Accord 260 Elite Edition and other models, but also encroaches on the natural market of its own B-class sedan.

What is even more embarrassing is that the sales of Q50L, which has been priced away from the luxury car camp, have not increased, and the data shows that the cumulative sales of the car this year are only 777 units.

"It seems to be actively seeking change, but in fact it buries hidden dangers." Some insiders pointed out that the self-surrender section will not only lose the original brand positioning and brand premium power, but also be a kind of harm to the previous brand fans, and even push potential customers farther and farther.

When will it get back on track?

Because it has been marginalized, "china has been defeated." Such rumors have also appeared more than once in reports about Dongfeng Infiniti.

For the rumors of "losing", even if Dongfeng Infiniti responds with "false reports" and "will not withdraw from the Chinese market" every time, it is an indisputable fact that its development is in trouble.

So, in the face of many difficulties, will Infiniti really lose the Chinese market like Acura?

At the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, Dongfeng Infiniti conveyed to the outside world the voice of continuing to deepen the Chinese market. Dongfeng Infiniti said that it will speed up product introduction, innovate marketing and services, and meet new development opportunities. In terms of product layout, the new QX55 and new QX60 luxury coupe SUVs will be launched, of which the QX55 will be introduced to China in the form of imports, and will be listed as soon as June. In terms of electrification, we will develop and produce a series of electrified models, covering most of the models on sale in 2030.

In the field of customer service, Dongfeng Infiniti said that it will adhere to the concept of people-oriented and customer-first, upgrade customer service initiatives, and provide free basic maintenance for 6 years or 120,000 kilometers and free accident rescue services for 4 years or 100,000 kilometers. At the same time, it will also provide meticulous and comprehensive humanized services based on the changing car needs and lifestyles of Chinese consumers.

In addition, in Infiniti's view, after the personnel adjustment, Xin Yu, Wang Baojun and Mao Limin will join forces to inject new impetus into Infiniti's development and create a new breakthrough for enhancing brand strength. At the same time, relying on Dongfeng Nissan's more mature and powerful system, Infiniti will also better stimulate its own potential, exert greater energy, and usher in an important turning point in its development strategy in China.

The vision is beautiful, but it's hard to say if it will be realized.

Statistics show that in 2018, the number of Dongfeng Infiniti dealers nationwide was 129, but as of the end of 2021, this number was only 106, and the proportion of withdrawals in two years exceeded 10%. How small this amount is in the Chinese market, there is no need to repeat it.

Compared with the precarious situation in the traditional fuel vehicle market, Dongfeng Infiniti's practice of "only seeing thunder, not seeing rain" in the new energy market is also quite worrying.

Earlier, Infiniti said that it will launch the first electric model in the Chinese market in 2021, but its electric model has not been found so far.

In the eyes of the industry, Dongfeng Infiniti's electrification has lagged behind, and when it is put into production, China's new energy vehicle market should be a black and red competitor, and it is not easy to stand out.

In fact, the luxury brands that are struggling to develop in China are not Infiniti. However, Volvo and Cadillac chose to anchor the new energy market, Lincoln, Land Rover, etc. chose to die in the SUV market, while Infiniti, which was domestically produced earlier, has never found the right direction.

At the same time, after the merger into Dongfeng Nissan, how to maintain brand tone and product positioning is also what Infiniti needs to pay attention to. After all, as a second-tier brand, it is in the gap between first-line luxury brands and high-end joint venture brands to survive, and it should actively cater to the domestic market in terms of products, prices, and marketing, and form brand labels. And these still seem to be what Infiniti lacks.

In the face of the increasingly obvious Matthew effect in the Chinese auto market and the increasingly fierce competition, what should Infiniti do next? We can only wait for xin yu, Wang Baojun and Mao Limin, a trio of "strong and powerful alliances" to give an answer.