Nissan to start Infiniti output in China this year
Nissan Motor Corp. will start building Infiniti luxury cars in China by year end, Japan's Nikkei news agency reports.
By 2018, the Japanese automaker intends to produce more than 50,000 luxury cars annually in China, according to Nikkei.
To sell those vehicles, Nissan plans to double the size of its Chinese dealership network from the current 60 stores to 120 in three years, Nikkei reports.
In the fourth quarter, Nissan and its joint venture partner, Dongfeng Motor Corp., will start producing the Infiniti Q50 sedan and the QX50 crossover at the joint venture's plant in Xiangyang in central China's Hubei province.
Daniel Kirchert, managing director of Infiniti China, told Nikkei that the Xiangyang plant will produce half of the 100,000 vehicles that Infiniti hopes to sell annually by 2018.
Infiniti, like Cadillac and Jaguar Land Rover, is counting on local production to challenge the German luxury brands, which dominate the China market.
To sell those vehicles, Nissan plans to double the size of its Chinese dealership network from the current 60 stores to 120 in three years, Nikkei reports.
In the fourth quarter, Nissan and its joint venture partner, Dongfeng Motor Corp., will start producing the Infiniti Q50 sedan and the QX50 crossover at the joint venture's plant in Xiangyang in central China's Hubei province.
Daniel Kirchert, managing director of Infiniti China, told Nikkei that the Xiangyang plant will produce half of the 100,000 vehicles that Infiniti hopes to sell annually by 2018.
Infiniti, like Cadillac and Jaguar Land Rover, is counting on local production to challenge the German luxury brands, which dominate the China market.
