Infiniti has been at the lead of many of the various advances made throughout its history as it has offered us a style and luxury that is different from many others and in most cases been much more advanced than others. Nissan has never been shy about letting Infiniti lead the way for technology and has only pulled the plug on some technology a few times, letting the brand be a great place to see the new, the modern and to enjoy the sales from being the first to have each of a variety of needed advancements.
With that in mind its seems the brand would embrace putting an EV in the lineup especially since the parent company, Renault-Nissan Alliance have two highly successful EV models, the Nissan Leaf and the Renault Zoe which together have sold over 250,000 units to date. This certainly feels like the basis for a luxury style EV to come in and take the market by storm leading the way into the EV segment to show off what Infiniti is all about, so what is holding back the brand from having an EV in the lineup that will certainly be able to show off to others?
The simple answer is demand. There still is not enough demand in the market for EV vehicles to be produced and even though the parent company has had the sales they have, the luxury segment is a completely different realm altogether. Many shoppers are not looking for an EV hatchback from a luxury brand, which makes it difficult to figure out if this segment really wants and EV at all or they prefer to continue to be a typical and hybrid buying group that enjoys knowing they can improve their fuel mileage but not have the hassle an EV brings.
Keep in mind an EV does limit your range of driving, which may be a serious detriment to being offered in the luxury segment from Infiniti. It’s not as if the brand hasn’t shown us an EV before, at the New York Auto Show a few years ago there was the Infiniti LE electric that offers 134 horsepower and 240 lb.-ft. of torque from a G sedan look. Unfortunately there was little to no excitement around this car and the project was scrapped, leaving Infiniti to decide not to have an EV until at least the turn of the decade.
Currently the brand is planning to have two new showrooms in Abu Dhabi and offer several of the already stout offerings that have made it so successful such as the QX80, Q70 and Q50. Certainly the choice to not have an EV could change should there be a greater calling for them on the market, but for now the choice to avoid an EV with the Infiniti badge on it seems to make perfectly good business sense as this luxury brand continues to offer us vehicles that are attractive and finely tuned for our driving pleasure.
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