Editor’s note: Nissan announces today Andy Palmer is leaving the automaker to take over as CEO of British sports-car maker Aston Martin. He will be replaced by Philippe Klein, an executive vice president for Renault. Palmer’s departure is another blow for Infiniti, which saw President Johan de Nysschen exit last month to head General Motors’ Cadillac luxury brand. Palmer was one of the architects of Infiniti’s restructuring strategy, along with de Nysschen. In a recent interview, Infiniti Americas Vice President Michael Bartsch explains how Infiniti plans to stay the course in its bid to becoming a more relevant luxury marque.
NEW YORK – The departure last month of Johan de Nysschen for Cadillac won't slow down his former employer, Nissan's Infiniti, from achieving its goals, says the brand's top U.S. executive.
“Nobody's wondering what it means for Infiniti because Johan left a very good legacy, a solid legacy, and the plan that Johan laid out is solid, and was endorsed by (Nissan CEO Carlos) Ghosn and (Nissan Executive Vice President Andy) Palmer. It's locked in,” Infiniti Americas Vice President Michael Bartsch tells WardsAuto in an interview during an Infiniti Q70 media preview here.
De Nysschen resigned as Infiniti global president in July, just two years after being lured away from Volkswagen's Audi unit by Nissan. He joined General Motors’ Cadillac as its global president last month.
Bartsch says while the South African-born auto executive was executing a "mission and vision," it was a mission and a vision developed by Ghosn and Palmer.
"So it's owned by more than one person, (and) the brand is greater than one person,” he says, adding a “collective stewardship of the mission and the vision” for Infiniti is in place, as is 99.9% of the brand’s team.
Bartsch can't confirm rumors that Ghosn and de Nysschen didn't see eye to eye on an Infiniti electric vehicle. However, he says such disagreements are not atypical in the business world.
"I think if you have a look at any corporate structure there is always what's generally known as creative friction," he says. "No one agrees on everything."
De Nysschen never opposed Infiniti having an EV, but Bartsch offers, "There are always going to be discussions on how and when and what does it look like, (and) what are the priorities."
The plan going forward for Infiniti could be described as more product in more segments to net the brand more prestige.
The plan devised by Ghosn and Palmer is for the luxury marque to meet its German competitors in 85%-86% of segments in which they participate or, put a different way, grow its engines and drivelines 60% from current offerings.
"The reality of it is the German brands have fractured the market more than we've ever seen," Bartsch says. "The challenge for Infiniti at the moment is not whether we can build cars for the segment. I think our record shows very clearly we can. It's not what we currently have, the challenge is what we don't have. To be an effective player in (the luxury sector), you have to have range. You have to have the bandwidth."
Infiniti will increase its bandwidth starting next year, when the brand releases the all-new Q30 compact car. The Q30 hits Europe earlier in the year and arrives in the U.S. late in 2015.
Also expected are redesigns of current models, as well as high-end products such as a flagship vehicle, which likely will be hinted at with a concept car to be unveiled at October’s Paris auto show.
A possible sports car for the brand still is under study, although it would come late in the decade, after Infiniti takes care of core segments, Bartsch says.
He notes the recent global recession put Infiniti product development on hiatus, harmed brand momentum and resulted in tardy redesigns of such models as the EX/QX50 and FX/QX70 CUVs. The QX50 largely has gone unchanged since the EX debuted in the U.S. in ’08; the QX70 launched as the FX in ’09.
Infiniti CUV sales essentially were flat through July, in what this year is the hottest sector in the U.S. auto industry.
“When you have a (CUV) that’s maybe 6 years old and up against a new (Acura) MDX, it becomes (a tough sell),” Bartsch says. “People like the latest and the greatest.”
WardsAuto product-cycle data shows the Infiniti QX50 will be discontinued in ’16. The next generation of the vehicle possibly could go by QX40, as the current QX50 is based on the old Infiniti G, now the Q40.
A new QX70 is slated to arrive in ’15.
