Neither Infiniti, nor its parent, Nissan are in good shape. Sales are slumping, the stock is getting hammered (Subaru has overtaken them in value among Japanese makers), and the lack of leadership it embarrassing, when the guy who some say engineered the palace coup was later forced to resign himself. They're expected to post their first loss in a decade.
After a decade of trying, Infiniti pulled out of Europe last year due to dismal sales. Its contemporary, Lexus. remains in the market as a bit player, but at least their sales are trending up.
Subjectively, Infiniti was going to be Japan's "BMW" vs. Lexus' "Mercedes" when they were both launched.
Back then, Nissan was an engineering-driven company, and the first Q45 was a great piece of engineering and a credible challenger to the 7-series, while the Lexus LS was clearly gunning for the S-class.
Up and down the line, from the Sentra, 240SX, 300Z, Maxima, Nissan packed their product with advanced engineering that help set them apart in their classes. The SE-R was a hidden gem, with the SR20DE, limited slip, fully-independent suspension. The G20 took that drivetrain and put it in a Euro-targeted sedan with a multi-link front suspension.
Unfortunately, that didn't lead to success, and the products became progressively less advanced. When it descended into crisis, Ghosn was brought in to save the company, with heavy cuts and upending the status quo.
While that brought about a recovery, it also resulted in product that was dumbed-down, cost-driven, and ultimately uninspiring.
That's pretty much the theme Nissan as a whole has ridden for years. The latest soap opera has added some excitement to the company, but that's not reflective of the product.
Ultimately, those big dreams of joining the club with the Germans really only worked out for Lexus. Acura can claim it wasn't as serious of a push upscale, but it, too has flailed for years. Volvo tried to move upmarket and failed. Amati, Mazda's effort, was killed before it even launched.
In that time, Audi has solidified its position to make it a German trio, and can arguably make a case that it belongs in Tier 1 with Merceds, BMW, and Lexus. Cadillac, Lincoln, Acura and Infiniti are stuck in Tier 2.
And after a slow start, with the Koreans ramping up their efforts in that space, things won't get any easier as their product improves even more. The T1 established marques will weather that better than the T2 strugglers.
Here's another hint -- marques that have clear visions and have success don't move their HQs in some fruitless search to find themselves, or satisfy the whims of their executives. Two on that T2 list have, Infiniti being one of them.
The subject of this story is a good illustration. For a luxury marque to only now be joining the CarPlay club is almost inexcusable.
