Priorities Keep Eau Rouge, EVs Off Infiniti’s Table

While they were released with strong enthusiasm about their futures, the Infiniti Eau Rouge performance sedan and LE and Emerg-e electric-car concepts remain just that.

And that has to be the case for now, says the brand’s U.S. chief.

“We have to make sure we have the priorities right, (and) the Eau Rouge is not a priority,” Michael Bartsch, vice president-Infiniti Americas, tells WardsAuto in an interview.

His is a less-hopeful view than former Infiniti global chief Johan de Nysschen had in 2013 and 2014 when two different Eau Rouge concepts debuted. The Eau Rouge was positioned as a performance derivative of the Q50 midsize sedan that eventually could spawn a sub-brand to take on BMW’s M and Mercedes-Benz’s AMG.

Before his summer 2014 departure from Infiniti for Cadillac, de Nysschen spoke in near-certain terms about a production version of the Eau Rouge that would generate an eye-popping 560 hp from the Nissan GT-R’s 3.8L twin-turbo V-6.

In December, de Nysschen made headlines when he wrote on his Facebook page, “I heard a rumor that Noboru Tateishi is going to cop-out and shelve the Eau Rouge project now that I’m not there to pressure him.” Tateishi is the brand’s head of development.

While Infiniti would like to build the Eau Rouge, Bartsch says launching the more mainstream Q60 midsize coupe and Q30 compact car in 2016 take precedence.

“The engineers are focused on getting the Q30 and Q60 launched… we need to make sure we get (those cars) out and into the market,” he says.

Infiniti is envisioning the Q30 as a hot seller due to growth in the entry-luxury segment, both in established premium markets such as the U.S. and burgeoning ones such as China.

In China, Infiniti exceeded 30,000 sales last year, a 75% increase from 2013, Bartsch says.

In the U.S., the Q30 will compete against the Acura ILX, Audi A3, BMW 2-Series and Lexus CT, as well as its platform-mate the Mercedes CLA.

Electric vehicles for Infiniti must wait, too, Bartsch says, even as the German luxury brands make partial or fully electrified vehicles a staple of their lineups.

“We need to get our basics in place first, we need to get core products in place first, then we can take the next step after that,” he says of an EV.

Infiniti showed two different EV concepts at 2012 auto shows: the LE in New York and the Emerg-e in Geneva.

Rumors have swirled of a production EV arriving around 2020, but Bartsch provides no timing, other than to say Infiniti first must launch the Q30 and Q60, as well as redo its aged smaller CUVs.

The CUVs, the QX50, formerly the EX, and QX70, formerly the FX, came out in fall 2007 and spring 2008, respectively.

“When we have those segments addressed, then we will take a re-look at the EV program,” he says.

Bartsch compliments parent Nissan’s track record on EVs (the Leaf is the best-selling electric car in the world so far, with more than 150,000 deliveries to date), but last summer spoke in more critical terms of entering the electric-car fray, noting Tesla is making money from selling CO2 credits, not the Model S.

“When you have a look at what Tesla (is doing), even they’re starting to understand where the real business is,” Bartsch told WardsAuto in August. “The business is in the CO2 credits and the business is not in producing cars, I would hazard a guess. I’d say the business for them is going to be long term in producing batteries.”

Infiniti does retail three hybrid models in the U.S.: the Q50 and Q70 hybrid sedans and the QX60 hybrid CUV.

A brand spokesman notes in any given month hybrids make up 5%-10% of the brand’s total U.S. sales.

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