Everything
Nissan Motor Co’ s premium brand, Infiniti, is looking at going green as they compete against BMW and Audi for sales. As the industry shifts towards self-driving and electric cars, Nissan is looking to take advantage of the changes by infusing more of the company’s Japanese design into the models.
Following similar electric cars, Nissan wants to remove unnecessary buttons and controls as well as what is found under the hood, leading to a larger cabin and a more minimalistic approach to the overall design.
“There’s clearly a reduction of mechanical element and that’s what’s happening with the brand, and that’s become an inspiration for us,” Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan’s design chief, said in an interview. “That’s how we kind of drifted into the Japanese DNA.”
By refocussing the Infiniti back to it’s Japanese heritage, it should begin to establish coherence in the design and character if the car. Ken Miyao, an analyst at consultancy Carnorama says it will be a good opportunity for the company to reinvent itself after the Latin-flavoured designs that are seen in past models.
“Infiniti has an ambiguous brand identity and doesn’t seem like a genuine Japanese brand,” Miyao said. “In the premium world, there should be a place for ‘wa’ and it should be good to emphasise that.”
The Japanese company has been chasing the likes of German brand, BMW for many years, which sold eight times more cars globally last year.
The most recent model to posses such features was unveiled at the Detroit’s auto show at the beginning of this year. The Q Inspiration concept, a sedan that has electrified powertrains and autonomous driving technology as well as less button and extras, embodying the vision Infiniti set.
As well as redesigning the brand, the company look to expand past the US market that continues to account for half of Nissan’s sales, after its founding in 1989.
