Following on from the announcement that it’s moving  global headquarters from Yokohama to Hong Kong, Infiniti is now looking at moving other assets overseas, namely the production of vehicles.

This latest move is largely due to the  record value of the yen against the US dollar which is making the marque’s vehicles increasingly less profitable in the North American market (the US remains a major source of revenue for the brand).

It’s a similar situation to that experienced by Japanese automakers in the 1990s, when the rising yen squeezed profitability on Nippon built vehicles sold in the United States (auto aficionados may recall the demise of the Nissan Z32 300ZX and Toyota Supra as particular examples).

Getting back to the present, Infiniti (despite assembling the goliath QX SUV in the US for a time) currently doesn’t build any vehicles outside Japan, though Andy Palmer, executive vice president for the brand said recently that, “as cars come up for renewal, generally they’re being relocated in a function of where the majority of sales are.”

Although deliberately vague, based on recent product introductions, that probably  means more production will materialize in the US and Europe, likely with added capacity at Nissan’s Smyrna, Tennessee facility for SUV based models (the new JX, unveiled at the LA Auto Show will be built there) and possibly Nissan’s operations in Sunderland, UK as a source for smaller, hatchback based cars, like the production version of the Etherea concept.

Whatever happens, expect to see this shift in production to oversees markets as a continuing trend in the coming years as Infiniti, along with other Japanese automakers aims to limit the affect of global currency fluctuations and potential supply issues on vehicle production.

[Source: Autoblog]

There’s been quite a lot of talk over the last few years concerning the replacement for Nissan‘s venerable Titan full-size pickup.

After the plan to offer a Ram based vehicle went away, following Chrysler’s bankruptcy and subsequent restructuring, Nissan chose to go it alone when it came to a next generation big pickup, bringing the entire development and engineering process in-house.

However, those plans, which reportedly would have seen a revamped Titan rolled out in 2013, have now been pushed back at least a year, largely as a result of supplier fallout from Japan’s natural disaster back in March. This has left the automaker scrambling to get production back on track as a top priority, diverting resources away from some upcoming vehicle programs.

As a result, during a Q&A session with Automotive News at the LA Auto Show last month, Andy Palmer, Nissan’s vice president for vehicle planning and program management, stated that, regarding a new Titan, “we will come out a little later now. I have made the decision.”

As to what form the new Titan will take, or which powertrains it will offer, little is known at this time, though expect V6 and possibly V8 engines as well as extended and crew cab models. It’ll be also interesting to see if Nissan will attempt to target heavier-duty customers with this one (it’s Titan based NV van currently comes in 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton and 1-ton configurations).

Perhaps the most exciting addition to the new Titan, however, will be the addition of a Cummin’s sourced diesel engine.

[Source: Autoweek]

It’s a distinct possibility. On November 29th in Japan, Nissan introduced its latest hybrid driveline, which consists of a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, teamed with an electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack.

What sets this one apart from other technologies is that  the gas engine employs a positive displacement supercharger, which helps the powertrain deliver comparable numbers to Nissan’s VQ35 3.5-liter V6 while offering significant gains in fuel economy.

Nissan engineers also claim that the torque curve on this new drivetrain is almost identical to the V6, which means plenty of low and mid-range grunt; something a number of Nissan’s North American offerings have been known for over the last decade.

Although there’s been no official word yet, given the similarities in performance and power delivery, it is very likely this system could supplement or even replace the VQ35 in cars such as the Altima and possibly even the Maxima as well as some of its SUV offerings.

The Yokohama based company also said that it plans to introduce more forced-induction hybrid powertrains in the coming years, both for it’s Nissan and Infiniti brands, possibly with Plug-In technology. Exciting stuff.

[Source: Autoblog]