Infiniti predicts sales growth to 2018 and beyond

Huge surge makes China the luxury car brand's fastest-growing market

Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co's luxury arm Infiniti has vowed to expand its sales network in China aggressively, even though the overall luxury car market has slowed down.

According to Daniel Kirchert, president of Dongfeng Infiniti Motor Co, the brand will have 150 to 200 dealerships in China by 2018, up from 80 this year.

He revealed the plan last week when Infiniti opened its first newglobal-standard dealership in Nanchang, capital city of central Jiangxi province.

"We will have around 30 new dealerships annually in coming years, and all of them will be in our new standard," Kirchert told China Daily.

New-standard dealerships will further improve customer experience with a "more natural, transparent and comfortable" environment and more care for their families and kids, he said.

In the first 11 months of this year, Infiniti's China sales surged by four-fifths to almost 27,000 cars, maintaining the country as the brand's fastest-growing market in the world.

Kirchert said full-year sales would reach 30,000 vehicles, up from 17,000 units in 2013.

"Our sales in China next year will not grow as fast as the last two years, but the pace will be at least 50 percent," he stressed.

Infiniti announced last month that it aims to sell 100,000 vehicles a year by 2018 in China, with local production. In the same month, its first-ever locally-made model, the Q50L sedan, rolled out in the plant of Nissan's joint venture with Chinese auto group Dongfeng Motors.

The total volume of China's luxury car market is estimated at 1.6 million to 1.7 million units. German players Audi, BMW and Mercedes, who were early birds to China and have strong brand awareness among local customers, control roughly 80 percent.

Kirchert expected the luxury car market to grow 10 percent annually to three million units over the next five to 10 years.

Due to its relatively low brand awareness in China, he said he hopes Infiniti's new stores are opened adjacent to other luxury marques, such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Its second locally-made model, the QX50 SUV, will hit the market in the first quarter of next year. Infiniti also sells a range of imported models in China.

He said Infiniti would continue its emotional "Gan ai" marketing campaign in China to further boost customer experience and lift brand awareness. "Gan ai" literally means "dare to love" in Chinese. The brand targets "young and emotional" buyers.

Earlier this month, Infiniti sponsored an economy and enterprise summit forum in Shanghai organized by the Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce.

Kirchert said: "Infiniti's brand value of 'Gan ai' matches the entrepreneurship of Zhejiang."

The Zhejiang province is located in East China where young entrepreneurs boom.