Premium brand will achieve stand-alone status by end of 2016 and won’t have to share showrooms with parent brand Nissan

Dubai: By the end of 2016, Infiniti will be completely on its own ... as far as its regional network presence is concerned. Doing so, the upscale auto label will get to maintain quite a distance from its Nissan parent brand, a process which has already gathered steam at the organisational level within the Middle East.

The intention, clearly, is for Infiniti to be seen as a stand-alone premium carmaker in its own right rather than carry the tag of being Nissan’s luxury brand.

“Already 50 per cent of our regional network is managed through exclusive Infiniti dealerships ... by end [of] 2016 the other half would also transition this way.”

When Infiniti models first made their appearance, they were allotted dedicated space within existing Nissan showrooms.

Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi have had stand-alone locations, and the latter will get two more in the next three months, according to Juergen Schmitz, managing director of Infiniti Middle East. Sharjah too will have a brand new one.

The network expansion has had a key role in the brand toting up regional sales of 7,062 units last year, up 27 per cent from a year ago.

“And that’s the fastest growth rate recorded by any premium car manufacturer in these markets — the overall category only managed to put in half of what we did,” said Schmitz. “Our intention this year is again to maintain a growth higher than that of the market.”

But there will be challenges, as Schmitz admits from the uncertainties set off by soft oil prices.

“Our forecasts from what each market could deliver at the end of the year can vary because of these factors.”

But Saudi Arabia is starting to come along nicely on volumes, further boosted by the three new showroom openings. Another recent one was in Beirut.

Meanwhile, the brand has just introduced the Q70 sedan, which carries a lot of clout under the hood through a V6 3.7-litre (329hp) and a V8 5.6-litre (402hp). Prices start from Dh169,000. There is also a hybrid version of the Q70 available elsewhere. The regional operations decided against bringing in the version after rating prospects in this particular category as low.

“With the Q50 sedan — the second best-selling model in these markets after the QX60 crossover — the Q70 gives us momentum on the sedan side,” Schmitz added. “This year, we should see the Q50 take on the mantle of our top-selling model.”