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Dongfeng Infiniti is a joint venture brand jointly funded by Infiniti and Dongfeng Motor in 2014. This is the fifth year that Dongfeng Infiniti has been established. After the localization of Infiniti, it did not develop as rapidly as expected, but encountered a bottleneck.

Dongfeng Infiniti only has Q50L and QX50 models on sale, and the product update pace is slow, compared with Cadillac, Lexus, Volvo and other second-tier luxury brands. In the current market competition environment, it is difficult for either Q50L or QX50 to stand out.

Dongfeng Infiniti will not launch new products until 2021. In the first quarter of this year, Dongfeng Infiniti sold only 1766 vehicles, down 65.97 per cent from a year earlier. The negative impact of poor sales is first reflected in the dealers. It is reported that a large number of dealers in Dongfeng Infiniti have withdrawn from the network, which is now less than 100. In the new product update speed is too slow, a number of dealers withdraw from the net under the adverse situation, Dongfeng Infiniti sales are likely to fall off a cliff.

According to the annual report of Dongfeng Motor Group, the largest number of dealers of Dongfeng Infiniti was in 2018, with 131 dealers, which is also the year with the largest number of dealers after Infiniti. In order to maximize profits, Infiniti canceled a number of concessions to reduce expenses, which also increased the operational pressure on dealers to a certain extent.

In fact, as early as 2018, dealers have withdrawn from the net one after another, although dealer withdrawal is more common in the automobile market, but it also reflects the problems in the development of the brand. After the realization of domestic Infiniti has not been recognized by consumers, coupled with the decline in the prices of popular luxury brands and the sudden rise of independent brands, Dongfeng Infiniti, which has many shortcomings in brand strength and product strength, is bound to affect its performance in the market.

Although the car market is in a state of decline in 2019, the mainstream luxury brands are still growing against the trend. In 2020, there are many variables in the development of Infiniti. Recently, there are media reports that Infiniti is making substantial layoffs in China, cutting its staff from 300 to 170, and may lay off more than 50% of its staff in the future. At the same time, the business departments of the four major regions, namely, the East, West, South and North districts, were all abolished; the offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu were closed, leaving only the Beijing headquarters to continue. In addition, there are media reports that Infiniti may be adjusted into the division of Dongfeng Nissan, and Dongfeng Infiniti headquarters may move to Huadu in Guangzhou to "rendezvous" with Dongfeng Nissan head office.

Infiniti officials said that the above news is completely false, the regional offices in the three cities are operating normally, and we have no plans to close them at all. Online rumors of layoffs are to save costs, put more resources into effective places to invest, Infiniti will not withdraw from the Chinese market. In response to the report that Dongfeng Infiniti headquarters has moved away, officials said that they will withdraw to Guangzhou? Absolutely not! Dongfeng Infiniti will not merge with Dongfeng Nissan.

Infiniti's sales growth has slowed significantly since 2016, rising 3.4 per cent year-on-year to 41600 vehicles in 2016 and falling for three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019, with sales of 48400, 47200 and 42300 respectively.

Infiniti, as a luxury car brand under Nissan, is lower in product strength and brand strength than Lexus, Cadillac and other brands. In the special market in 2020, it is difficult for Infiniti to support sales growth with only two domestic car companies, and the withdrawal of a large number of dealers reflects the collapse of the Infiniti brand in the Chinese market. Infiniti plans to launch five models in the next three years. It will launch its first electric car in 2021 and all its models will be electric. 50% of global sales are expected to come from electric cars in 2025. However, with the layout of domestic and foreign car companies in new energy vehicles, by that time the domestic new energy vehicles have gradually become saturated, will Infiniti still have a chance?

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