What does Infiniti plan on introducing within the next 5 years?

Infiniti JX Sketch

Infiniti and parent company Nissan has just unveiled its newest international “Midterm Plan Announcement,” which translates into about 12 new Infiniti and Nissan models will be introduced in the next five years. Nissan has promised to introduce a new vehicle every six weeks for the next six years. But what about Infiniti?

Starting with the most concrete plan, spy photos of Infiniti’s newest full-sized crossover have been floating around the Internetz for quite some time. Projected for a full release later this year with a launch date pegged either near the end of 2011 or early 2012, the new “JX” three-row crossover will most likely go against the likes of the Audi Q7 and Lexus GX460.

Next on the docket is a front-wheel drive hatchback that is projected to be pinned directly against the Audi A3. We caught a glimpse of this model as it took the form of the 2011 Etherea Concept at this past year’s Geneva Motor Show. The expected release debate for the Etherea is sometime during 2013 and 2014.

And of course, with everyone else jumping on the electric car bandwagon, Infiniti too will be launching an electric vehicle based on the parent company’s Nissan LEAF.

Additionally, because the E90/E92 BMW 3-Series is on its way out that means the proverbial 3-Series beater, the Infiniti G will be approaching its due date as well. All forms of the G—the sedan, coupe and convertible—are expected to return but rumor has it that the manual transmission may not make a return appearance. Let us hope that this is not true.

And lastly, although Infiniti’s old flagship, the Q, was significantly overlooked due to poor marketing, the fact of the matter was that it was very much a solid competitor to the BMW 5-Series. Because Infiniti moved up market, we have the Infiniti M acting as the direct runner-up to the BMW 5-Series. That leaves room for Infiniti to make another “Q” flagship to battle the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7-Series, and Audi A8 industry standards. But the “Q” flagship isn’t just the only possibility, especially since Infiniti has yet to release any details of one in the works. The other possibility is a replacement model for the EX crossover, which has been struggling to sell. So altogether, Infiniti’s next model could be any of the above, or something else completely different, or maybe a combination. An Infiniti Lexus LFA competitor would certainly make for an interesting proposition.

– By: Chris Chin

Source: CARandDRIVER