Infiniti sales growing in sluggish market

Focus on customers propels performance of automaker

Premium auto brand Infiniti is growing fast in China despite sluggish growth in the world's largest auto market.

The marque sold 3,740 cars on the Chinese mainland in October, soaring 29.2 percent from the same month a year earlier.

The performance brought the brand's sales in the first 10 months of 2015 to 32,169 units, more than the total sales in all of 2014 and a 35.8 percent surge year-on-year, a stark contrast to the Chinese auto market's 1.5-percent increase in the same period.

"Our performance has grown despite the market slowdown and that means more and more Chinese customers have fallen in love with our brand and products," said Daniel Kirchert, president of Dongfeng Infiniti.

"Thanks to the full support of our two parent companies, we have localized two models in one year since the establishment of the joint venture and they have outnumbered imported models in our sales."

Dongfeng Infiniti was established in September 2014, with its first locally made Q50L model rolled out in November of the same year and the SUV QX50 in March 2015.

About 2,400 locally made cars were sold in October, accounting for more than 60 percent of Infiniti's sales for the month in China. The Q50L has been the most popular model, with its monthly sales exceeding 1,000 units for eight months in a row.

Focus on quality

The popularity of its locally made cars lies in Infiniti's focus on consistent quality worldwide.

"Infiniti has four plants worldwide - in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and here in China - and I have been to all of them. I am confident in our Xiangyang plant. We made a lot of preparations two or even three years before the plant started production to ensure it meets our global standards," Kirchert said.

A 2014 internal assessment gave the Xiangyang plant a score of 4.5 out of 5 points, the same score as its benchmark plant in Japan.

The Xiangyang plant in Hubei province also boasts an army of some 2,500 experienced workers, with 36 designated jujiang, or master workers.

On average, jujiang have been in their fields for at least 10 years and are extremely skillful and critical to ensure and improve the quality of the vehicles being produced.

Kirchert said jujiang represent a spirit of continuous focus and challenge to offer their customers outstanding quality and experience as well as Infiniti's commitment to long-term, sustainable development in China.

Lei Xin, executive vice-president of Dongfeng Infiniti, said the automaker's growing sales network is another major contributor to the brand's rapid growth in the country.

"Dealers are our strategic partners and we would like to extend our confidence to more and more investors," said Lei.

He said the brand now has 98 dealerships in China and that number is expected to reach 100 within the year.

'True partners'

"We see our dealers as true partners and we see them as our customers," Kirchert said. "We listen to them and we maintain good and healthy relations."

He said that cooperation is an example of Infiniti's human-centric philosophy since its establishment in 1989.

Through its dealers, Infiniti is offering a warranty of four years or 100,000 kilometers on all its models, cutting the cost of car ownership.

The automaker has also formed a social community for Infiniti car owners on a digital platform that offers tips on car use and enables people to book maintenance. It has attracted more than 43,000 members since its establishment a year ago.

Infiniti continues its sponsorship of the reality show The Amazing Race II to extend the carmaker's spirit of Gan Ai, or dare to love.

In contrast to traditional sponsors of such shows, Infiniti took part in the production of the show from beginning to end, including planning, choosing the celebrity participants, filming and editing.

Thus far, views of the show on the Internet have reached 910 million, and page views for the topic on Sina Weibo reached 4.3 billion, leaving the show the most popular one among weekend reality shows.

The company also provides a fund of 5 million yuan ($785,325) to the show so the winners can help more people in need.

Infiniti launched its Gan Ai Planet project in 2014. The carmaker has since attracted more than 20 million yuan in donations for the project, which has benefited more than 15,000 families with children with autism and helped build 217 kindergartens in four poor counties in mountain areas.

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/20/2015 page12)