896. That’s how many QX30 compact crossovers Infiniti sold last year in Europe, representing a massive decrease of 49.9 percent compared to 2017. By comparison, the Mercedes GLA upon which the model is heavily based accumulated sales well over 25,000 units just in the last four months of the year. So, what went wrong with the Infiniti-badged version?
Here are the latest concepts from Infiniti:
Well, the QX30 is “not a very successful product.” These aren’t our words, but the words of Infiniti's new president. In an interview this week with Motor Authority at the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Christian Meunier announced a successor for the QX30 is planned, but it won’t be linked to Mercedes and its GLA anymore: “It will be replaced in the future by an all-Infiniti platform.”
However, it won’t happen in the near future as Meunier went on to mention they’ll “keep selling it [current-gen model] for now…” In other words, don’t expect the replacement to come out anytime soon. After all, the QX30 is not an old product considering it made its debut in production guise a little over three years ago at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
When it will eventually make the transition to a new model, the QX30’s direct replacement might benefit from a Variable Compression-Turbocharged (VC-T) petrol engine as implemented in the QX50. The larger crossover offers 268 bhp at 5,600 rpm and 280 pound-feet of torque from its 2.0-litre unit, but Meunier specified the new crossover could get a smaller engine featuring the same tech, possibly in a hybrid setup.
As for Mercedes, spy shots have shown the three-pointed star is preparing a second generation of the GLA, which won’t be the company’s only compact crossover since later this year we’ll see the new boxy GLB.
Gallery: First Drive: 2017 Infiniti QX30