QX50

Make
Infiniti
Segment
SUV

2019 proved that the Infiniti brand is ready for some new models. The company's sales were down by a worrying 21.8 percent compared to 2018, with every model in the lineup posting a sales decline. Infiniti does have a slew of electric cars in the works but they are still a few years away from production.

The company's next model was already teased, a coupe version of the Infiniti QX50 that will be called the QX55. It will be powered by a gas engine, not an electric drivetrain, but it should still give Infiniti a sales injection when it arrives on the market. The QX55 was set to arrive in the summer of 2020 but according to Automotive News, it has already been delayed.

Automotive News reports that Infiniti has already notified its supply chain that the QX55 will be delayed by five months in a letter from Nissan North America's manufacturing team in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Production was slated to begin in June with deliveries during the summer but now the QX55 isn't slated to reach production until November. This means deliveries may not commence until the very end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021.

No specific reason was given for the delay in the letter other than a need "to ensure production capability" at the Mexican plant. An Infiniti spokesperson told Automotive News, "As noted in the letter from the production facility to suppliers, operational efficiencies drive projects to move - sometimes forward, sometimes backward - as we progress toward the start of production of a new model."

While we don't think the QX55 will be Infiniti's savior, the Japanese brand needs all the new models it can get right now. The QX50 is the company's most recent model and even it experienced a 26.7 percent drop in sales in 2019. Perhaps if the QX55 arrives with jaw-dropping styling, it could reinvigorate sales slightly.