Infiniti EV Delayed Indefinitely

Last we heard, luxury brand Infiniti was working on a premium version of the Nissan Leaf to launch sometime in 2014. But priorities change, and even though Nissan Leaf sales are slowly gaining steam, an interview with Nissan execs revealed that the luxury Leaf had been “delayed indefinitely” as Infiniti instead focuses on brand-building rather than green cars.

That was the revelation brought forth by an interview with Plug-In Cars, which noticed the conspicuous absence of the Infiniti LE at the Detroit Auto Show. They found out that instead of launching the luxury electric car in 2014 as planned, the project had been pushed farther back towards the end of the decade.

It’s an unfortunate move for Infiniti and Nissan, which seems to be second-guessing its commitment to electric cars. Whereas the Tesla Model S has proven there’s a market for premium electric vehicles, and the BMW i3 is selling like hotcakes in its native Germany, Infiniti is putting its electric car on the back burner. Big mistake.

Of course the product itself could be to blame, and perhaps the promises of wireless charging just weren’t panning out. Another problem could be range, charging time, or just cost, and it makes me wonder if this affects plans for the plug-in supercars that’ve been touted time and again.  It’s a shame Infiniti decided to change course at a time when the EV market finally seems to be warming up.

Source: PlugIn Cars