Infiniti PULLS OUT of UK and Europe – Sunderland production to end

Infiniti – Nissan’s premium brand – is pulling out of Western Europe, including the UK, as it fails to make a market impact.

Infiniti, the Nissan take on Toyota’s Lexus, has enjoyed success in both Japan and the US, with buyers happy to fork our premium prices for an upmarket Nissan. But not in the UK and Europe.

Despite some perfectly reasonable cars – and production of the QX models in Sunderland – Infiniti has decided it’s no longer viable to keep an operation going that is just not selling enough cars.

As an illustration of just how poor Infiniti’s sales in the UK are, last month they sold just 48 cars in the UK – some 40 per cent fewer than McLaren – and just a tiny fraction of Nissan’s 9,440.

The move to pull out of the UK and Europe isn’t a drawn out one either, with production of the Q30 and QX30 stopping in Sunderland in July and an expectation they will be completely gone next year.

Infiniti say the decision to leave the Western Europe market will allow them to focus on the electrification of their range in other markets, with plans to focus on its SUV lineup in the US and five new models in China in the next five years.

Infiniti has seven dealerships in the UK – and another 11 ‘Partner’ service centres – which will remain open until a transition plan is put in place to continue aftersales and service. Although it seems likely that will mean Nissan dealers taking over that task.

If you’ve got an Infiniti and you’ve got questions about what’s going on, you can call their help centre on 020 7048 3700.