Established in the USA and now in market in Korea, China, the Gulf States and Russia, Infiniti is set to take Nissan head-to-head with the likes of Lexus and the premium German marques worldwide. And with the brand set to launch in Europe later this year and the commencement of right-hand-drive production now confirmed, Australia is back on the radar.
 
Speaking at this week's Nissan 360 conference in Portugal, Nissan Vice president Marketing and Sales of General Overseas Markets, Gilles Normand, told the Carsales Network, the arrival of Infiniti in Europe was an important step for worldwide distribution.
 
"In taking Infiniti globally we have faced a number of hurdles," Normand said.
 
"The number one hurdle, the most expensive to overcome, is product. The launch of Infiniti into Europe this autumn [Ed: our spring season] opens up the scope of the brand enormously. European specification is what markets like South American, South Africa and Australia require."
 
Normand said Nissan was in the process of prioritising marketplaces for the brand. The second-most important factor is the "openness of a marketplace". Heavy protectionism, or onerous tariffs or luxury car taxes might also affect the company's wishlist, he said.
 
He says he thinks Australian consumers will be open to the Infiniti's "unique positioning".
 
"We are not seeking to replicate European [luxury] brands," Normand said. "Infiniti has a very different positioning and we want to present something different from the traditional European offer."
 
Normand offered Infiniti's crossover-heavy model line-up as an example of the brand's alternative positioning.
 
It's very likely a positioning that could resonate with Australian buyers, though local Nissan boss, Dan Thompson says Infiniti's aggressive global aspirations won't necessarily fast track timing for the Lexus-style brand's arrival in Australia.
 
Speaking to the Carsales Network last week, Thompson said that while a more "robust" global business unit for the brand had been established and that Infiniti had already studied the Australian marketplace, there was still work to be done on the parent brand before the carmaker could launch Infiniti Down Under.
 
Though Infiniti was an important part of the overall brand's global strategy and time was right to commence "discussions" again, he stressed it would not be rushed into the local marketplace.
 
"Taking Infiniti global was one of our strategic initiatives from 2005. All the markets were studied a few years back and we're taking it sort of step-by-step," Thompson explained.
 
"With infinity, our intention is to be Tier One -- so we don't want to rush into any market and not do it properly.
 
"The study [on launching Infiniti in Australia] was done and it will be done again, and I think with the global Infiniti business unit now being much more robust, we'll definitely start those discussions again.
 
"It's [the brand] very much the taste, at least today, of what this [Australian] market desires -- rear-wheel drive and performance," Thompson opined.
 
Nissan has confirmed production of right-hand drive Infiniti models will commence in the middle of this year, but Thompson says the Aussie timeline is still to be determined.
 
"There is no [definite] timing. It's like I said, we will study it, and we have and we'll continue to study it until we can make it work… Until we can do it properly," Thompson told the Carsales Network.
 
"In the past maybe there's been some criticism of Infiniti, as not being Tier One and we're not going to make that mistake in this market.
 
"If we're going to do it, if we're going to bring it in as Tier One and do it right... It's not a clean sheet of paper because there's been a lot of work done already," he said.

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