QX50

Make
Infiniti
Segment
SUV

Thanks to what Automotive News Europe has learned from a conference call with Infiniti's Global president, Roland Krueger, we now know that the Detroit Auto Show coming this January will be the stage for the reveal of a new SUV that will be added to the luxury automaker's lineup. Krueger didn't specify whether the SUV would be a production model or a concept. What we do know is that the new SUV will closely follow the QX Inspiration concept we saw at the 2016 Paris Motor Show.

Whether concept or not, any car that would spawn out of the QX Inspiration is sure to be a looker, but we hope Infiniti wises up and uses the styling for a new QX50 SUV. The current QX50 is a lightly evolved version of the EX35 that debuted in 2007, and given that the much of the interior and exterior styling of the older car remains on the QX50, it's more than time for a refresh. Selling an SUV that's essentially an evolved version of the QX Inspiration concept would be a wise idea given that the luxury SUV segment continues to blossom. If the QX Inspiration does happen to be the precursor to the QX50 replacement, then it's sized and styled perfectly and alludes to a new design language for Infiniti that seems to gun for Mercedes' edgy lines.

In addition to news on the SUV, Krueger also mentioned that his company was looking into a range of options for an electric car. "It's going to be both HEV, and also we are looking into concepts for EVs," said Krueger. "These are very concrete concepts that we're looking at." This is a welcome announcement given that Infiniti discontinued its investment into the technology in 2013 while it focused on its struggling lineup. Shareholders may breathe easy now knowing that Nissan's luxury offshoot won't be left behind the technology curve, especially given that the automaker recently put the variable compression ratio engine on the map. A note to Infiniti: if you really want to go for Mercedes, maybe it would be wise to dress your new SUV in a Red Sport outfit.