Nissan to sell 4,000 Infiniti cars in China in '09

Shanghai, March 12 (Gasgoo.com) Nissan Motor expects to sell 4,000 units of its luxury brand Infiniti in China in 2009, with no plan yet for sales growth from last year, Information Times said today.

The 13 Infiniti dealerships in China only sold 4,000 Infiniti cars in 2008, much lower than the sales of the brand's rival Lexus. Nissan aims to sell the same number of Infiniti cars in China this year, and hopes for better sales if possible. The Japanese carmaker has set no plan for the Infiniti sales growth in China for 2009 as market is not clear enough now.

Cool market and low sales will not stop the expansion of Infiniti in China. Nissan announced at the end of last year that Infiniti would beef up its investment in the Chinese market and create ten new 4S stores nationwide in 2009, sharply raising the total number to 23 across the country.

Infiniti is a new comer to China, one of the most profitable overseas markets of Nissan Motor. The first dealerships of the luxury Infiniti brand started business in July 2007, and by the end of 2008, Infiniti had 13 dealerships across China.

Infiniti sales in China reached 1,550 cars in the second half 2007 and the figure hit 4,000 units in 2008. However, its rivals like Lexus, Audi, Benz, and BMW have far more sales. For instance, Lexus sales exceeded 30,000 units in China last year, up from 20,000 units in 2007.

The low Infiniti sales in China may be also attributed to some other factors than the financial crisis. The Infiniti brand name is little known to many Chinese customers and its dynamic, personalized design has not catered to high-end car buyers in China who like splendid, comfortable, luxury models.