Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand, will launch its first electric vehicle next year and the new model, based on Leaf technology, will debut at next month’s New York motor show.
Although it uses the Leaf as a base, Infiniti insiders said at the Geneva show that it will have a different body and interior while the battery technology will also be tweaked for the brand.
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Engineers are looking at how an Infiniti EV would be used in the US and Europe and this is likely to be different to the way Leaf drivers use their cars. This could mean larger batteries for a longer range.
Also coming is a new C-segment car for the important luxury market dominated by the BMW 3-series, Mercedes C-class and Audi A3. This model is due in 2015 and design chief Shiro Nakamura said this will be based on the Etherea concept seen at last year’s Geneva show.
It is the first model being developed under the company’s alliance with Daimler and will be based on the platform of the new Mercedes B-Class.
The alliance is also providing Infiniti with four cylinder petrol and diesel engines for its new models.
Nakamura said: “We have gradually rolled out Infiniti models in Europe with large V6 and V8 engines which have been popular in the US. This has helped establish a brand position, now we need the smaller engines and a volume model in the C-segment. We also need a ‘halo’ model which is why we are developing concepts such as the Emerg-E.”
Currently all Infiniti cars for the US and Europe are built in Japan but could the alliance with Daimler see assembly brought to its factories in Europe?
Nakamura said: “It is certainly a possibility because with the strength of the yen it no longer makes sense to build the cars in Japan. We are looking at a number of possibilities including the US and China as well as Europe.”
