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On the evening of December 16, the new generation of Dongfeng Infiniti QX60 was officially pre-sold in Guangzhou, with a pre-sale price range of 45-660000 yuan. Wang Leehom, the brand spokesman of Infiniti, was also present at the event. According to previous reports, QX60 is Dongfeng Infiniti's first medium and large SUV, and it is also Infiniti's third domestic model after Q50L and QX50.

From the outside, the appearance of Dongfeng Infiniti QX60 is consistent with that of overseas models, with a large inverted trapezoidal intake grille on the front face and a smoked black grid design on the interior, together with the LED headlights on both sides, which further improves the recognition of the front face. On the side of the body, the new car adopts the design of suspended roof, its D column is hidden, and the upper and lower edges of the windows are decorated with chrome strips. In the rear part, the black trim panel in the middle is connected to the headlamp groups on both sides to make it look similar to the through-through design. In terms of size, the length, width and height of the new car are 5127/2005/1767mm and wheelbase 2900mm respectively.

In terms of interior decoration, Dongfeng Infiniti QX60 basically continues the overseas version of the design, using a new three-format steering wheel, equipped with 12.3in suspension display screen and 12.3inch InTouch interactive display screen and dynamic instrument, and equipped with 10.8inch head-up display system. The central control area tilts slightly to the driver's side as a whole, which is more convenient for daily operation.

In terms of power, Dongfeng Infiniti QX60 will be equipped with a 2.0T VC-Turbo turbocharged engine with a maximum power of 185kW (252hp), which will be matched by a nine-speed manual integrated transmission. By comparison, the maximum power of the 2.0T engine of the current Mercedes-Benz GLE 350s is 190kw, while that of the BMW X5 xDrive30i is 195kw.

It is understood that QX60 is a medium-and large-scale SUV under Infiniti, which has been introduced into domestic sales through import since the first generation of models, using a hybrid system composed of 2.5T+CVT with a domestic price of 47.98-569800 yuan.

As a new generation of models, the biggest change of the QX60 is the replacement of the 9AT gearbox. At the March 25 evening of CCTV this year, a number of car owners complained that Infiniti QX60 had frequent gearbox failures, power interruption, steering / brake assist failure and other problems, endangering personal safety. In addition, when the warranty expires, car owners face huge maintenance costs. In the face of quality problems, 4S stores are required to sign a "confidentiality agreement" and shall not be made public to the media.

After the exposure of CCTV on March 15, Infiniti did not give a solution to the failure of the CVT gearbox. For the older generation of QX60 owners, gearbox maintenance may become the norm in the future. However, with the new QX60 home-made, replaced with 9AT gearbox, the problems of the older generation of models may not appear in the new models.

Data show that Dongfeng Infiniti is a joint venture brand jointly funded by Infiniti and Dongfeng Motor in 2014. This year is the sixth year that Dongfeng Infiniti has been established. After the localization of Infiniti, it did not develop as fast as expected. So far, Dongfeng Infiniti has only two models, Q50L and QX50, which are on sale. The pace of product update is slow, and the speed of model introduction and update lags behind that of other luxury brands. In the current market competition environment, it is difficult for either Q50L or QX50 to stand out. Infiniti's sales growth has slowed significantly since 2016, rising 3.4 per cent to 41600 vehicles in 2016. Infiniti fell for three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019, to 48400, 47200 and 42300 respectively, and fell to 25700 in 2020, down 26.66 per cent from the same period last year. According to FIFA data, Infiniti sold 6785 QX50 vehicles and 1978 Q50L in the first three quarters of 2021, which means Dongfeng Infiniti sold 8763 vehicles in the first three quarters, with an average monthly sales of less than 1000 vehicles.

Infiniti missed the opportunity for development after it was made in China, launching only two domestic models after six years in China, and its brand influence, product competitiveness and brand service are far inferior to those of the same level of luxury brands, and even wander on the edge of the luxury market. Now, Dongfeng Infiniti will launch new domestic models again, but at present, both domestic and traditional brands are speeding up the layout of the high-end market, while luxury brands are sinking faster in order to compete better.

So, can QX60 save Dongfeng Infiniti's market predicament? Price and brand are the decisive factors for consumers to buy a car. From the point of view of the model price, the QX60 sold through the import is 47.98-569800 yuan, which is equipped with a 2.5T gas-electric hybrid system, while the domestic QX60 is equipped with a 2.0T engine with a pre-price of 45-660000 yuan. From the perspective of model positioning, the main competitor of Infiniti QX60 should be the large SUV in the mainstream luxury brands, including Mercedes-Benz GLE, BMW X5 and Audi Q7, but from the actual brand and market position, QX60 is aimed at Cadillac XT6, Lincoln Flider and Lexus RX models, but no matter the brand or product power, QX60 does not seem to have much advantage. So, do you think QX60 has a chance? Does Dongfeng Infiniti still have a chance?

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