Key Takeaways
- Infiniti is making faster updates to its lineup, with the QX60 leading the charge.
- Infiniti is ready to explore new segments.
- Despite the trend towards SUVs, Infiniti remains committed to sedans.
The 2025 Infiniti QX80 is kind of a huge deal; not due to the fact it breaks any new ground in electrification or autonomy, but because it’s the first all-new full-size SUV from Nissan’s luxury arm in over a decade. As a quick reminder, the outgoing QX80 debuted back in 2011 as the QX56. It was refreshed and renamed as the QX80 in 2015, and then received a second facelift in 2018 along with some minor visual changes after that. Craig Keeys, Group Vice President of Infiniti Americas, knows that products can no longer be left on the market for so long in today’s environment.
When asked if the newly-revealed 2025 QX80 would live as long as its predecessor, Keeys said “Not if I can help it. We’re moving faster in our product cycle. In fact, if I use the QX60, as an example, we’ll have a refresh on that vehicle next year.”
Faster Updates
The QX60 is currently the best-selling Infiniti, with a new generation debuting for the 2022 model year. In the past, Infiniti may have rested on its laurels and kept the QX60 unchanged, but this upcoming facelift shows that the luxury brand is heading in a new direction.
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“That is a testament to us wanting to refresh our products much faster,” he explained. “We want to make sure we come to market with the right products sooner than we did with the old generation QX80.”
Infiniti recently teased four upcoming new models, one of which was the QX80. The other vehicles include an upcoming coupe version of the QX60 called the QX65, an electric sedan, and an electric crossover.
New Segments For Infiniti?
Though Keeys stressed that “we don’t really speculate on new product and segment entries,” he revealed where he’d like to see the Infiniti brand introduce a new vehicle. “One segment that’s attractive to me has always been the C SUV segment,” meaning sub-compact, entry-level crossovers such as the Audi Q3 and BMW X1. “I think your volume is going to come out of the D SUV segment [where models like the BMW X3 and Infiniti QX50 sit], but I think as an entry point to any luxury brand, C SUV is always intriguing.”
You may remember that Infiniti once competed in this segment with the QX30, which was essentially a rebodied Mercedes-Benz GLA. Sadly, the QX30 only lasted from 2017 to 2019 before Infiniti discontinued it.
“For entry level luxury, if you can build the right product, whether that’s through partnership or internal product development, it’s got to be the right product: the right audience, the right client demands at the right time.”
Sticking With Sedans
Wherever Infiniti ultimately goes on its electrification journey, sedans will still be a part of the brand’s future, as evidenced by the Infiniti Qe Concept that was shown late last year.
“Sedans have always been a part of our storied history. The Vision Qe is hinting as to what our artistry in motion will ultimately look like in that segment in the future,” Keeys promised. “Vision Qe is going to take a prominent space for our sedan investment.”
Not much has been revealed about the Qe, but it’s rumored to spawn a replacement for the existing Q50. The electric luxury sedan will share a platform with the upcoming Nissan Maxima, and it will be assembled in the United States at a new plant in Mississippi.
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