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Infiniti is pulling out of Western Europe, cutting models

BEIJING — Nissan's premium brand Infiniti has announced it will exit Western Europe early next year, as it restructures its global operations and focuses on the world's top two auto markets. Infiniti said it will discontinue the Q30 sedan and the QX30 sport-utility vehicle and cease their production by the middle of 2019 at Nissan's manufacturing factory in Sunderland, England. Both models are sold globally but produced only in Britain. The QX30 is sold in the United States. The move comes as Infiniti seeks to divert its resources to markets with bigger opportunities, such as China and the United States, from a region where non-European premium brands are struggling to compete against local players such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Nissan also recently scrapped plans to build its new X-Trail SUV in Britain amid the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, saying it had taken the decision to optimize its investments by building the next generation model in Japan. "Western Europe remains the most challenging and competitive region for premium cars," Infiniti's chief spokesman, Trevor Hale, told Reuters. Infiniti's sales in western Europe almost halved last year to 5,800 vehicles. In addition to the tough competition, the Japanese premium brand, headquartered in Hong Kong since 2012, has struggled to effectively meet emissions and other regulatory requirements in the region, Hale said, referring to stringent Euro 6 emissions requirements and other regulatory challenges. "The commercial reality for Infiniti in Western Europe is that there is simply no visibility of a viable and sustainable business, especially given the regulatory challenges," he said. Infiniti said an exit from Western Europe will allow it to focus on its initiative to electrify a good portion of its product portfolio from 2021 and discontinue diesel offerings. The brand plans to focus more on its SUV lineup in North America, bring five new or significantly-redesigned vehicles to China over the next five years, improve quality of sales and residual value and realize more synergies with Nissan. "This is all part of Infiniti's vision to become a top challenger brand in the premium segment," it said. As it prepares to withdraw from Western Europe, Infiniti said it is working to find alternative opportunities for employees who would be affected, consulting with employee representatives where necessary and identifying opportunities for transition and training support where appropriate.

2025 Infiniti QX80's Klipsch audio system previewed at CES

Infiniti hasn’t shown us the redesigned 2025 QX80 full-size, three-row SUV yet. But, the automaker is previewing its high-end audio at CES 2024. Infiniti has announced that the 2025 QX80 will feature an available Klipsch Reference Premiere audio system. But instead of showing it to us in the new production car, itÂ’s being showcased in the Infiniti QX Monograph concept, which we first saw at Pebble Beach last year. Klipsch, a high-end speaker company, will be supplying the QX80 with a total of 24 speakers, including ones located in the front headrests. The system includes 1-inch titanium tweeters and an 8-inch TriPower subwoofer, as well as a 24-channel amplifier. Klipsch, known for premium in-home sound, announced at CES 2020 that it would partner with Panasonic to bring its audio quality to the car, and demonstrated its immersive automotive audio at CES 2021 with Panasonic and Dolby Atmos Music. Just last year, the 2025 Ram 1500 debuted with Klipsch audio in its Tungsten model. Now, Klipsch enters a new vehicle segment with the Infiniti QX80. The fact that Infiniti is showing off the Klipsch audio in the QX Monograph has us wondering just how much that concept previews the 2025 QX80. The availability of the Klipsch audio system is just the first little tidbit about the 2025 QX80 weÂ’re getting from Infiniti, with more to come as the carÂ’s debut approaches later this year. “The all-new QX80 is poised to elevate InfinitiÂ’s flagship with evolved design language, exceptional craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology that will make it the new standard in the luxury SUV space,” Craig Keeys, group vice president of Infiniti Americas, said in a statement. “As we embark on an Infiniti product renaissance, we canÂ’t wait to share all the ways QX80 will deliver extraordinary comfort and convenience for all three rows.” Stay tuned. Related video:

Infiniti teases the next generation QX80 SUV

Our latest teaser ahead of the New York Auto Show comes to us from Infiniti. The company didn't reveal anything more than a name, the QX80 Monograph, and the single picture seen above. However, we can determine a few things from this tidbit of information. First, Infiniti is teasing a vehicle that will represent the upcoming successor to the current QX80 SUV, albeit in concept form. Second, the SUV is going to see a fairly significant redesign. The headlights are now lined up with the top half of the grille rather than the bottom, and the tops of the fenders are higher. This provides a more aggressive, square-shouldered appearance. The lower vents and front spoiler look more aggressive, too. The SUV will be fully revealed on April 11 in time for the New York Auto Show, as will more details about the vehicle. At that point we should know if this is a completely new vehicle, or a substantial refresh of the current Nissan Patrol-based SUV. Related Video: