Infiniti aims to have a market share of 10 per cent in the luxury car segment by 2016, company chiefs have told Autocar. That would mean almost tripling its current sales figure of 170,000 units to about 500,000.
The Japanese brand plans to launch a raft of new models during the next five years, including its first front-wheel-drive car and a C-segment model inspired by the Etherea concept.
Infiniti’s global head of planning and communication, Andy Palmer, revealed that the firm is planning to expand the brand into many new markets. He said the target is to sell cars in 70 countries by 2016 – Infiniti current has a presence in 38 domestic markets.
When Infiniti was introduced to Europe in 2008, its main issue was a lack of brand recognition among potential consumers when compared to more established luxury car brands. The manufacturer's tie-up with Red Bull Racing, alongside its adoption of F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel as a company ambassador, has helped to alleviate the problem by increasing Infiniti's visibility.
Although the deal was originally solely for marketing purposes, it is already expanding into a technical partnership, with Red Bull Racing tipped to get involved in road car development in the future and Infiniti using its technology and expertise in car batteries to help help the F1 team improve its Kinetic Energy Recovery System.
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