Automotive News - July 28, 2014 - 21

JULY 28, 2014 * 21

future product pipeline

Nissan tackles its larger models now
Next-gen Murano, Maxima, pickups are due
Lindsay Chappell
lchappell@crain.com

ith most of its small and highvolume models redesigned,
Nissan will begin rolling out
freshened and re-engineered
versions of its larger models and trucks.
In addition, over the next two years, Nissan will bring its lower-volume products up
to date and take another step into hybridelectric models.
Nissan will deliver a new-generation Murano crossover, Maxima sedan and Titan
and Frontier pickups. It will also offer a hybrid version of the Rogue crossover for the
first time.
Nissan faces decisions on whether to bring
a trio of proposed vehicles to market. The
company remains uncertain about whether
its long-discussed e-NV200 electric compact commercial van, on sale in Europe,
makes sense for U.S. dealerships.
Also far from certain is the future of
the IDx concept small car, unveiled in late 2013 with assurances that it will be
commercialized.
And
Nissan has vowed to
bring its BladeGlider
electric sports car concept to market, with a
nontraditional
arrow
shape that features a narrower front end than
rear.
Nissan's 2012-14 wave of
redesigns covered 75 percent of its U.S. sales volume.
The next two years will focus on
reshaping the remaining 25 percent, and
on keeping the larger-volume products
fresh.
Murano: The redesigned third-generation
Murano will reach showrooms at the end of
this year as a 2015 model. In a bid to give the
new version the same visual impact it had
when it debuted in 2002, Nissan's San Diego

W

SCION
continued from previous page

The nameplate may be changed.
xD: The Yaris-based hatchback is likely to
be killed in mid-2015 when Scion gets a
sedan derivative of the Mazda2 from the
Salamanca, Mexico, plant. Counterintuitive
as it may sound, Scion gets the sedan, while
Toyota gets the hatchback variant of the
Mazda2. It should arrive by summer 2015.
The nameplate may be changed.
tC: The sport coupe's redesign arrived in
summer 2010. Expect special trim-package
editions but few other changes until a redesign in early 2016.
FR-S: Launched in spring 2012. Although
rumors in the Australian press claim the
rear-wheel-drive coupe is a one-and-done
deal, executives at Toyota and Subaru -
which co-developed the FR-S and its sibling,
the Subaru BRZ - insist there will be a nextgeneration vehicle. Expect it to arrive in
spring 2017.
Crossover: Toyota is studying a low-slung
Scion crossover, smaller than a RAV4, and
running off a modified Corolla/Auris platform in all-wheel-drive setup. It would arrive in 2016 or 2017.
iQ: The minicar has fallen well short of expectations. Expect euthanasia by the end of
2014. c

design studio emphasized the crossover's
curvaceous body lines with pronounced
creases and created a sharper, floating
roofline over concealed D-pillars.
The model also gets a touch more interior
elegance and technology in a bid for more
high-end buyers, including turn-by-turn
navigation. Its new predictive forward-collision system, previously available only in Infiniti models, reacts to traffic activity two
cars ahead by automatically braking when
necessary. The crossover will receive a
panoramic moonroof, customizable lighting, climate-controlled seats and enlarged
instrument gauges and center stack. It will
be available in S, SV, SL and Platinum trim
levels, with each available in front-wheel
drive or all-wheel drive.
Murano CrossCabriolet: Nissan will drop
the high-end convertible Murano at the end

of the 2014 model year, with no plan to resurrect it.
Maxima: The redesigned Nissan flagship
will arrive in the second half of 2016. Its
"show car" styling will closely adhere to the
Sport Sedan Concept that was unveiled at
the Detroit auto show in January, featuring a low, sloping roof and downward curving hood line. Nissan
executives say the 2016 Maxima will retain the concept car's long

Nissan
is considering
a lower-end sports
car based on the IDx
compact sports sedan concept.

The redesigned Maxima's styling will adhere
to that of the Sport Sedan Concept, shown.
curving body side creases, in addition to
picking up 5 mpg.
Titan: The next Titan pickup will be unveiled at next year's Detroit auto show and
go on sale later next year as a 2016. Nissan
has lavished attention on improving the
styling, configuration and performance of
the underperforming pickup in hopes of
making it a more serious full-sized segment
contender.
The key change for 2016
will be its variation. The
new model will come
in three cab configurations - crew cab,
extended cab and,
for the first time, a
regular cab - with
both gasoline and
diesel engine options.
In addition to its usual V8 gasoline engine, Nissan will offer a Cummins-branded turbocharged 5.0-liter V-8
diesel. The Cummins package will put the Titan for the first
see NISSAN, Page 23

Big wave of Infiniti products ahead
Lindsay Chappell
lchappell@crain.com

nfiniti dealers and consumers will wait
until 2016 at the earliest to see a number
of critical new products that have been
promised.
The pipeline includes a trio of as-yetunidentified new compact vehicles, built in
Mexico in cooperation with MercedesBenz. There will be at least one new car
above the Q70 in size and a small-volume
performance car based on the Q50.
The brand got a shock this month with the
sudden departure of Johan de Nysschen as
Infiniti's worldwide president. De Nysschen's move to Cadillac after two years at Infiniti's helm has sparked concern that the aggressive long-range rebuilding program he
championed might be in jeopardy. Under de
Nysschen, Infiniti has been approved to increase its model offerings 60 percent and
double the number of available powertrains.
But Andy Palmer, Infiniti's chief corporate
architect as Nissan Motor Corp. executive
vice president, indicated that the plans would
not change in de Nysschen's absence.
These are Infiniti's current plans.
Q80 or Q90: Infiniti will produce a performance-engine-powered four-door coupe in

I

The proposed Q50 Eau Rouge would give
Infiniti a $100,000-plus image car.
2017 or 2018. It will be positioned above the
Q70, although Infiniti has not disclosed the
name. The Porsche Panamera fighter could
share Mercedes-Benz's modular rearwheel-drive architecture and carry a turbocharged V-6 capable of 600 hp to 700 hp,
according to comments made by de Nysschen this year.
Q30, QX30: The compact Q30 hatch will
be imported from Sunderland, England,
in early 2016, and its sibling QX30
crossover version half a year later. The
models are designed on the Mercedes-

Benz MFA vehicle architecture, which also yields the Mercedes A class and GLA.
Intended to compete against the Audi
A3/Q3 segment, the Infiniti duo will use a
2.0-liter Mercedes engine. Europe will be
the primary market for the entry-level
premium cars initially, and North American distribution will come second.
Mexico compacts: Infiniti has revealed
little about the models it will obtain from
the $1.36 billion Mercedes-Benz jointventure auto plant in Aguascalientes,
Mexico, that was announced last month,
except that they will be compacts in three
versions for both Infiniti and Mercedes.
Infiniti's half of the planned 300,000-vehicle-a-year capacity will begin reaching
retailers in 2017. One Infiniti source says
the models will be a more U.S.-focused
second iteration of the upcoming Britishbuilt Q30 and QX30 platform, which
would free up Sunderland's capacity for
Europe.
Q50 Eau Rouge: Using the Q50 as its base
architecture, the proposed carbon fibertrimmed Eau Rouge would be to Infiniti what
the low-volume GT-R racer is to the masssee INFINITI, Page 22
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - July 28, 2014
