Paris motor show 2012: Infiniti plots performance models

Infiniti’s new boss Johan de Nysschen believes it will take 15 years for Nissan’s luxury arm to become established as a “tier-one luxury brand”. Speaking to European media for the first time at the Paris motor show, de Nysschen confirmed the Emerg_e concept would not be going into production, but it would heavily influence future Infinitis.

“The Emerg_e is not planned for future production at all,” he said, “ but it does offer an insight into our future powertrains and design direction. There will be strong cues in the G-series successor, particularly with the interior” he added, a model understood to be set for a reveal at January’s Detroit motor show.

De Nysschen reiterated that the Renault-Nissan Alliance tie-up with Daimler was due to yield four-cylinder petrol and diesels for Infiniti, the former of which will be developed in partnership with Daimler and Infiniti.

The Infiniti chief, who joined the brand on 1 July, also said he wanted to see more “high-performance models across all our lines”, something that could be done in partnership with Red Bull.

He declined to define sales targets in the short or medium term, but did say Infiniti’s planned aim was to eventually reach 500,000 units. “But if that’s in 2015 or 2018 or whatever, that doesn’t bother me. We will be investing in building the brand, and volume will follow if we get that right.”

One planned new model that will help growth is an Infiniti version of the Mercedes A-class, due for launch in 2013/14. It will be built in Europe for all worldwide markets. “Our top priorities are looking at increasing our market coverage, building a dealer network and our brand image,” said de Nysschen. “We’re not here for the short term.”