Nissan ’s Infiniti luxury division launched in the United States in 1989 as a rear-wheel drive brand, but quickly adopted front-wheel drive models to better cover the lower ends of the segment. Infiniti continued to offer front-wheel drive models for more than a decade, but killed off its front drivers by 2004 in an effort to focus on rear-wheel drive performance cars.
While Infiniti’s rear-wheel drive dedication has served the company well, the Japanese automaker is now missing out on the lower end of the luxury market. Although Infiniti will soon launch a cheaper version of its G sedan – dubbed the G25 – the brand still lacks a true entry-level car.
As such, Infiniti is considering a plan to launch a new entry-level car based on a front-wheel drive platform. Although the addition of a front-wheel drive model could dilute the brand’s performance image, Larry Dominique, Nissan North America Inc.’s vice president for product planning, thinks the two platforms could coexist in Infiniti’s lineup.
“The core of the brand is very important to us, this kind of performance sedan,” he told Automotive News. “Can you have other vehicles in different segments around the core of your brand? Yes.”
The addition of a front-wheel drive Infiniti model would mark the brand’s first since 2004’s I35 sedan. Infiniti produced its last true entry-level model in 2002, the front-wheel drive G20.
