Infiniti - where are they going wrong?
Discussion
So as of october they had only sold 305 cars in the UK. That equates to ginormous marketing costs per car sold!
Obviously with the launch of the q50 with a diesel option they are going to attract a few more in the fleet sales department but I just wondered where everyone thinks theyve gone wrong since they launched over here in 2008.
I for one went into a branch recently for a look round and was shocked at how impeccable their customer service was, its clear they have the processes in place to deliver quality but don't have the customers interested enough in the product.
At the moment they are no where near on the same levels as their competition in terms of sales or brand image so what do you think should be done for them to improve this over the coming years? They obviously have the money to test new strategies otherwise they wouldnt be still in the UK market so where should they go from here...
Obviously with the launch of the q50 with a diesel option they are going to attract a few more in the fleet sales department but I just wondered where everyone thinks theyve gone wrong since they launched over here in 2008.
I for one went into a branch recently for a look round and was shocked at how impeccable their customer service was, its clear they have the processes in place to deliver quality but don't have the customers interested enough in the product.
At the moment they are no where near on the same levels as their competition in terms of sales or brand image so what do you think should be done for them to improve this over the coming years? They obviously have the money to test new strategies otherwise they wouldnt be still in the UK market so where should they go from here...
not sure why, I quite like their recent cars...........But unlike Lexus they don't seem to have the reliability reputation, I have no idea if that is deserved or not.
prior I thought they were a bit 'american' in their design.
But the hard question as to why Lexus works but Infinity doesn't. Both are premium end of existing middling manufacturers (although Toyota always had a reasonable reputation, and built on that), both arrived sort of out of nowhere. but the LS smashed the existing complacent competition (but not on looks or dynamics) and to a certain extent BMW/JAG/Merc etc have been playing catchup ever since.
Now those manufacturers have much better products, Infinity as a new brand is going to struggle. Whats going to tempt people away from the existing marques, not price, equipement and reliability anymore. What is Infinities USP.
If you think back to higher end nissans of the past, non were particularly big sellers. Who wanted to pay 20-30+k for a datsun? QX,. 200sx, 300zx
prior I thought they were a bit 'american' in their design.
But the hard question as to why Lexus works but Infinity doesn't. Both are premium end of existing middling manufacturers (although Toyota always had a reasonable reputation, and built on that), both arrived sort of out of nowhere. but the LS smashed the existing complacent competition (but not on looks or dynamics) and to a certain extent BMW/JAG/Merc etc have been playing catchup ever since.
Now those manufacturers have much better products, Infinity as a new brand is going to struggle. Whats going to tempt people away from the existing marques, not price, equipement and reliability anymore. What is Infinities USP.
If you think back to higher end nissans of the past, non were particularly big sellers. Who wanted to pay 20-30+k for a datsun? QX,. 200sx, 300zx
As above really. To bring a new name to market that is there to compete with establisge German brands is a very hard thing to do.
There is still a huge amount of naivity about Jap cars. a LOT of people still think they are cheap and cheerful. Lexus has managed to get beyond this but others seem to struggle.
Also there will always be an element of badge snobbery. When you shell out ££££ owners don't want people saying 'you bought a what??'
Stu
There is still a huge amount of naivity about Jap cars. a LOT of people still think they are cheap and cheerful. Lexus has managed to get beyond this but others seem to struggle.
Also there will always be an element of badge snobbery. When you shell out ££££ owners don't want people saying 'you bought a what??'
Stu
stuno1 said:
As above really. To bring a new name to market that is there to compete with establisge German brands is a very hard thing to do.
There is still a huge amount of naivity about Jap cars. a LOT of people still think they are cheap and cheerful. Lexus has managed to get beyond this but others seem to struggle.
Also there will always be an element of badge snobbery. When you shell out ££££ owners don't want people saying 'you bought a what??'
Stu
I honestly think if lexus lauched now it would be the same situation as Infinity.There is still a huge amount of naivity about Jap cars. a LOT of people still think they are cheap and cheerful. Lexus has managed to get beyond this but others seem to struggle.
Also there will always be an element of badge snobbery. When you shell out ££££ owners don't want people saying 'you bought a what??'
Stu
At the time the established names were complacent producing poor cars with poor reliability poor service, poor equipment levels. Lexus LS came along and wiped the floor with them on service price and equipment and reliability etc etc. Once that reputation took hold while the others were catching up, they had the base on which to launch other models. Lexus still lags in driving dynamics, style and badge. But arguably still produce better cars in the sector that they are in.
Inifinity don't have a USP unlike Lexus at the time, so its going to take something special to ease people away from the established marques.
sparkyhx said:
I honestly think if lexus lauched now it would be the same situation as Infinity.
At the time the established names were complacent producing poor cars with poor reliability poor service, poor equipment levels. Lexus LS came along and wiped the floor with them on service price and equipment and reliability etc etc. Once that reputation took hold while the others were catching up, they had the base on which to launch other models. Lexus still lags in driving dynamics, style and badge. But arguably still produce better cars in the sector that they are in.
Inifinity don't have a USP unlike Lexus at the time, so its going to take something special to ease people away from the established marques.
Completely agree with this.At the time the established names were complacent producing poor cars with poor reliability poor service, poor equipment levels. Lexus LS came along and wiped the floor with them on service price and equipment and reliability etc etc. Once that reputation took hold while the others were catching up, they had the base on which to launch other models. Lexus still lags in driving dynamics, style and badge. But arguably still produce better cars in the sector that they are in.
Inifinity don't have a USP unlike Lexus at the time, so its going to take something special to ease people away from the established marques.
When Lexus launched the LS400 in 1990 (ish), they basically threw a hand grenade into the luxury car market. The car was so well engineered, and the customer service so good, that both became benchmarks in the industry and a kind of folklore grew up around them. The LS400 now looks like a tired old SOTW but it is surely one of the few cars that changed the industry.
Infiniti won't succeed without a similar USP. The question is what. Maybe customer service and aftercare? I've heard good things about their service, but not enough to tempt me into the showroom.
I think part of the issue infiniti has is they aren't really what you would class as jdm like lexus due to the fact that it was started and is an american branch of the company. I mean next year will be the first year the cars will be sold in japan. Having driven a g35 coupe for several months I loved the car, granted there were some issues but that was mainly due to the head unit and it being installed in such a manor that you couldn't do anything aftermarket wise.
To be honest when I can afford to get one myself I shall as I love the unique aspect of the car and don't want it to become to popular as its kind of fun making people clueless as to what the car actually is as they are always impressed when they see it and hear it start up and rev.
The biggest downfall is marketing though as there seems to be no advertising towards the brand and the only people that I have come across that know of the brand outside of owning one is due to F1 so hopefully that will start to bring more attention to the brand with the special editions that will come out as well.
To be honest when I can afford to get one myself I shall as I love the unique aspect of the car and don't want it to become to popular as its kind of fun making people clueless as to what the car actually is as they are always impressed when they see it and hear it start up and rev.
The biggest downfall is marketing though as there seems to be no advertising towards the brand and the only people that I have come across that know of the brand outside of owning one is due to F1 so hopefully that will start to bring more attention to the brand with the special editions that will come out as well.
My next car will be a FX50 , I was always aware of the brand but didn't care about knowing more until I needed a kiddy carrier with 4wd and a Murano came into focus, I had the Murano a week when I realised I loved it and the logical progression is a fx50 (only thing I dont like on the murano is the gearbox) - it will cost me £25k to get into a 2010 maybe 11 fx50 far far less than nearly anything comparable and it sounds lush.
Only off putter is the nearest dealer is Stockport from Wirral - bit of a trek
Only off putter is the nearest dealer is Stockport from Wirral - bit of a trek
DSLiverpool said:
My next car will be a FX50
Saw loads of FX50's while in Florida last month - couldn't figure out at first why they looked so much better but then realised it was the absence of a front number plate.Be interesting to get a PCP quote on a used one and see what final value they assess. I bet it's horrendous.
DSLiverpool said:
Only off putter is the nearest dealer is Stockport from Wirral - bit of a trek
They used to offer collection and delivery up to 150 miles (each way) but maybe that was just when they had the Reading location. Apparently when they came to the UK they had a $10M budget and a plan to set up 5 dealerships around the M25 - they were dismayed to find it would cost them that much for one, hence the first one being in Reading.NPI said:
DSLiverpool said:
My next car will be a FX50
Saw loads of FX50's while in Florida last month - couldn't figure out at first why they looked so much better but then realised it was the absence of a front number plate.Be interesting to get a PCP quote on a used one and see what final value they assess. I bet it's horrendous.
DSLiverpool said:
Only off putter is the nearest dealer is Stockport from Wirral - bit of a trek
They used to offer collection and delivery up to 150 miles (each way) but maybe that was just when they had the Reading location. Apparently when they came to the UK they had a $10M budget and a plan to set up 5 dealerships around the M25 - they were dismayed to find it would cost them that much for one, hence the first one being in Reading.GN93 said:
You'll be interested to know that they still offer the 150 miles service. I just can't seem to get my head around how their distinctive selling feature, their service, (150 mile test drive delivery amongst many other things) is sustainable if they were to grow. You would get every Tom, Dick and Harry taking advantage of such service. Surely they will have to reduce such and this would ultimately damage the brand long term?
Yes they do still offer this and for me, I took up the option of a test drive in Devon, from ICR (Reading).I was so impressed with both the service from Reading and how the car drove that it swayed me away from an X5 to the FX.
I love the individuality of the car.
Got a 16 month old car with 10k on it for less than 50% of its original price and a fraction of a similar specced X5.
sparkyhx said:
good on you for taking the leftfield and not the sheep choice - keep us updated
Really glad I did.It is amazingly nimble around the Devon lanes near me, and we have just driven down to southern Spain fully loaded for a couple of months golf and it has been a revelation on such a long trip.
Equipment levels are awesome and the seats so comfortable whilst gripping.
I love the way the seat bolsters can be adjusted tighter if you are giving it some in sports mode.
Gassing Station | Japanese Chat | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff