The Infiniti brand once stood out as a sporty Japanese luxury carmaker. Models like the G35 had a great reputation for reliability and performance a decade or so ago. But now it’s starting to seem a little bit like the Infiniti Brand is fading. Is Infinity still on anyone’s radar? Why buy an Infiniti instead of an Acura or a Lexus?

Though there was an increase in sales from 2014 – 2017, the Infiniti brand began to see a significant decline in sales numbers beginning in 2017. According to Good Car Bad Car, Infiniti brand units sold were down by over 20 percent. In a recent reddit thread someone asked why the Infiniti brand has gone downhill. Let’s hash it out.

Infiniti vs. the competition

A little comparison between Infiniti and competitors like Lexus, Acura, BMW and Mercedes might give a little insight into this downhill trend we’ve seen in the Infiniti brand.

First, we’ll take a look at sales statistics

Last year, Infiniti sold 117,330 units total. These numbers are behind Acura by over 40,000 Units. In 2019 Acura saw 157,385 units sold. Infiniti has clearly seen a loss in popularity in recent years when compared to Acura, but next to others the Infiniti brand’s future starts looking even bleaker.

In 2019, Lexus sold 298,112 units. Mercedes and BMW each sold well over 300,000 units. Compared to these numbers, the Infiniti’s lack of success is dismal. Yet, back around 15 years ago it was set to maintain competition with these other luxury brands. Judging by the sales stats, that is far from the reality of the situation.

The host in this video sheds some light

The following video gives some interesting insight into what happened to the Infiniti. The host praises the long gone G35 that the Infiniti brand had out back when they were on track. He talks about Infiniti’s poor brand management and lack of resources since Nissan‘s funding was cut.

The video host states his opinion that the only people who buy Infiniti models these days are rental companies and deal hunters. Rental companies want an upscale vehicle so they can charge renters a fee for upgrading. Deal hunters want to buy a decent luxury brand vehicle but for a cheaper price. The only reason anyone wants one of these dated downtrodden models anymore is the cheaper pricetag.

Then there’s the reddit thread

In the reddit thread, people reply to the question of whether or not the Infiniti brand is going downhill. One reply lauds the Infiniti for being the only Japanese luxury brands that could do sport on par with the Germans. When Nissan ditched those sporty roots the Infiniti brand was left with average resources:

Instead of going all in on sporty platforms and engines OR tech/luxury with their reduced budget, they tried to split the difference, and now their tech sucks and their performance levels have rotted away.

reddit.com user

One of the replies raves about the posh luxury of the Infiniti line up, while another complains about the Infiniti brand downfall. The entire thread bears examples in such a wide range of differing opinions.

We sort of see the whole situation like this –– Alfa is sporty. Mercedes is luxury. Audi has tech. Genesis is new and different. Lexus is reliable. But we don’t think Infiniti ever figured out what it’s supposed to be.

This handful of luxury cars shows a sample of how much more deliberate and superior the development of the other luxury brands has been and still remains. Infiniti brand is not on that level anymore because it never went all in. It’s just dated and average all around because it never chose a specialty to focus on.