Infiniti counts on growth in 'limited' luxury SUV segment

Dubai: The 2011 Infiniti QX, a new luxury SUV, is now out in the market. Officially launched by Arabian Automobiles last week, the company hopes the new vehicle will put Infiniti ahead of the competition.

"We are introducing QX as a full size SUV, where the competition in this segment is very limited to a few cars," said Michel Ayat, CEO of Arabian Automobiles.

On sale across Arabian Automobiles in the UAE, the car will be priced from Dh290,000 to Dh310,000

Although the global crisis has had a harsh impact on car markets, including the UAE, there are signs that the market is coming back, Ayat said. "Growth in the first half of 2010 has been 8 per cent in the UAE," he said.

"We didn't do as well as the other countries but it is a sign that we are not going backwards, but we are going on solid ground."
 

Ayat also said that the car market is slowly regaining customer confidence. "Customer confidence is also coming back. The financial institutions and the banks are also supporting the business."

Growth figures

Commenting on this year's growth figures, Ayat said that he is confident it will register between five and 10 per cent.

Arabian Automobiles which is under the flagship of AW Rostamani Group is the exclusive distributor of Nissan, Renault and Infiniti in Dubai and the northern emirates.

However, it will be a while before pre-crisis days are back, he said. "Honestly, I can say that if we go back to before 2008 which was the peak, we will need three to four years. I don't see the 2008 records will come before 2013 or 2014."

While the UAE car market represents less than 20 per cent of the whole GCC car market, the UAE is still the leader in the luxury market, he said.

Speaking of the new Infiniti QX, Ayat said that the new SUV "will ensure an ‘in control' driving experience which is reinforced by the vehicle's raft of passive and active safety features."

Dedicated shop

The launch comes at a time when Arabian Automobiles is expected to open a new dedicated showroom for the Infiniti brand on Shaikh Zayed Road by the end of the first quarter of 2011.

The over 14,000 square foot showroom will be built to Infiniti's ‘IREDI' (Infiniti Retail Environment Design Initiative) standard which focuses greatly on customer service.

Premium line-up

Infiniti is the premium division of Japanese automaker Nissan Motors, part of the Renault-Nissan alliance. The current line-up comprises the Infiniti G-series as well as the M, EX, FX and QX. All Infinitis are built on a Nissan platform. Main competitors of Infiniti are Lexus, Audi, BMW and Mercedes, among others.


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