'07 Q45 Deep-Sixed

Nissan North America Inc.'s Infiniti brand is putting its luxury flagship sedan, the Q45, in dry dock, a company spokesman tells Ward's.

However, overseas markets, including China and the Middle East, will continue to sell the Q45, he says.

“We're not going to import (the Q45 to the U.S.) for '07. We're going to focus on the G (midsize sedan and coupe) and continue on with the QX and the FX (utility vehicles) and especially the M (midsize luxury sedan) — the M's still selling very, very well,” the spokesman says, shifting attention to Infiniti's other models.

Development is continuing on a replacement flagship model, but the auto maker isn't saying when it will appear.

When asked if Infiniti's top-of-the-line model will get a new name, the spokesman says: “Certainly the Q has always been the flagship of the Infiniti line.”

Bowing in March 2001, the current-generation Q45 was an immediate disappointment, missing its 10,000-unit annual sales target by a wide margin.

To increase volume, a mid-cycle change occurred just 18 months after launch, but the vehicle never reached the heights of segment-mates, the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S-Class.

Through July, Infiniti has sold just 324 Q45s in the U.S., a 57.8% drop from prior-year, according to Ward's data.

That's far below the volume of the segment-leading Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which has seen sales skyrocket, up 95.8% this year to 17,817 units, thanks to an all-new model for '07.

“(Q45 is) a very good quality vehicle, but it has never caught on in that price category as an option,” Bob Heintz, general manager of Hoehn Infiniti of Carlsbad, CA, tells Ward's.