Everyone knows the new car market is terrible, but did you know Infiniti sold a single unit of one model during 2021? Infiniti ended production after the QX30 crossover crashed and burned in the new car market in 2019. Sales were so low Infiniti couldn’t afford to keep making it, but it did have some models left over. Those that had still gone unsold were still sitting in dealer lots awaiting that one brave soul who would take one home.

Infiniti QX30 sales totaled 1 in 2021

You might be wondering how it’s even possible only to sell one unit of a specific model. After admitting the QX30 was a failed experiment in 2019, Infiniti stopped its production a few months later since sales were so low. Following that, a few hundred units were still available during 2020. According to Motor1, the Japanese automaker shifted 148 of them total.

Compared to 2020, the sales figures represent a drop-off of 99.3 percent. Selling just one model easily displays why Infiniti stopped production on the vehicle so quickly. Although customers still showed interest in other Infiniti SUVs and crossovers this past year, the Infiniti QX30 just doesn’t get it done.

What is the Infiniti QX30?

If you don’t pay attention to the ever-changing car market all the time, or specifically Infiniti, you might’ve missed the QX30 altogether. Plus, the likelihood of spotting one on the road is almost zero. This crossover-like model was based on the Mercedes-Benz GLA and rebadged for Infiniti. It was available with a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with front-wheel drive or the upgraded all-wheel drive.

Although it was a Mercedes-based crossover, it felt much cheaper than one. It came with a price tag starting just over $30,000, but you were better off elsewhere. Instead of the highly-touted Infiniti interior fans expect, the Infiniti QX30 went with an “off-brand Mercedes” look and feel. As sales and stopped production indicates, that didn’t work well for most people.

Infiniti and Nissan sales for 2021

In the United States, Infiniti sold 58,553 cars last year in total. That’s 26.4 percent lower than the previous year, according to Motor1. However, their non-luxury brand, Nissan, sold 12.1 percent more than in 2020. Nissan sold 919,086 vehicles in 2021, 595,647 from its truck portfolio. A total of 751,027 Nissan units sold in the US last year were manufactured there as well.

Nissan did well in 2021, but Infiniti did quite a bit worse. The entire new and used car market is in shambles and isn’t showing any signs of improvement yet. Cars are more expensive and far more challenging to find for customers. It’s a bad time overall to buy a car, so most people avoid it altogether. Infiniti was never one of the top-selling car brands in the US, but it never sold a single unit of a particular model before. Sales that low come only from the lack of production.

If only one QX30 was left in the US for sale as a “new” car from 2019 or 2020, it had to sell eventually, right?