| 06 Sep 2010 |
|
Infiniti counts on growth in ‘limited’ luxury SUV segment
- Text size
Monday, Sep 06, 2010
Gulf News
QX model unveiled as Arabian AutomobilesArabian Automobiles
plans to open new showroom
Dubai The 2011 Infiniti QX, a new luxury SUV, is now out in the market. Officially launched by Arabian AutomobilesArabian Automobiles last week, the company hopes the new vehicle will put Infiniti ahead of the competition.
“We are introducing QX as a full size SUV, where the competition in this segment is very limited to a few cars,” said Michel Ayat, CEO of Arabian AutomobilesArabian Automobiles
. On sale across Arabian AutomobilesArabian Automobiles in the UAE, the car will be priced from Dh290,000 to Dh310,000
Although the global crisis has had a harsh impact on car markets, including the UAE, there are signs that the market is coming back, Ayat said. “Growth in the first half of 2010 has been 8 per cent in the UAE,” he said.
“We didn’t do as well as the other countries but it is a sign that we are not going backwards, but we are going on solid ground.”
Ayat also said that the car market is slowly regaining customer confidence. “Customer confidence is also coming back. The financial institutions and the banks are also supporting the business.”
Growth figures
Arabian AutomobilesArabian Automobiles which is under the flagship of AW Rostamani Group is the exclusive distributor of Nissan, Renault and Infiniti in Dubai and the northern emirates.
However, it will be a while before pre-crisis days are back, he said. “Honestly, I can say that if we go back to before 2008 which was the peak, we will need three to four years. I don’t see the 2008 records will come before 2013 or 2014.”
While the UAE car market represents less than 20 per cent of the whole GCC car market, the UAE is still the leader in the luxury market, he said.
Speaking of the new Infiniti QX, Ayat said that the new SUV “will ensure an ‘in control’ driving experience which is reinforced by the vehicle’s raft of passive and active safety features.”
Dedicated shop
The launch comes at a time when Arabian AutomobilesArabian Automobiles is expected to open a new dedicated showroom for the Infiniti brand on Shaikh Zayed Road by the end of the first quarter of 2011.
The over 14,000 square foot showroom will be built to Infiniti’s ‘IREDI’ (Infiniti Retail Environment Design Initiative) standard which focuses greatly on customer service.
ZARINA FERNANDES/Gulf News
Classy appeal
A model poses with the new 2011 Infiniti QX 56 luxury SUV, at the launch in Dubai. A new dedicated showroom for the Infiniti brand is set to open at Shaikh Zayed Road by the end of the first quarter of 2011.
infiniti
premium line-up
Infiniti is the premium division of Japanese automaker Nissan Motors, part of the Renault-Nissan alliance. The current line-up comprises the Infiniti G-series as well as the M, EX, FX and QX. All Infinitis are built on a Nissan platform. Main competitors of Infiniti are Lexus, Audi, BMW and Mercedes, among others.
Customer confidence is also coming back. The financial institutions and the banks are also supporting the business.”
Michel Ayat
CEO of Arabian Automobiles
By Samia Badih?Staff Reporter
© Gulf News 2010. All rights reserved.
Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
Loading ...
Post a Comment
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.