CAR interviews European Infiniti chief Jim Wright (2010)

CLICK HERE TO READ PART TWO

CAR readers were asked to submit their questions to Infiniti Europe vice president Jim Wright. We put them to him and here are his answers. It’s a two-part interview – click here to read round two.

Jim Wright: ‘That’s a big question for a car brand. Basically we want to position the vehicles as being dynamically strong with a choice of customer experience. One of the things we have learned is that buyers of premium cars today don't feel particularly special. As a brand extends its line-up so its ability to offer high levels of customer service is compromised. The smaller your volume, the better you should be able to treat your customers. We are putting a lot of effort into our sales and service network to make sure the customer is feeling special because I think a lot of other brands have lost this in terms of the human experience. We are a very small niche player in the market, our budgets are reasonably limited so we have to be very, very clever in the way we are spending our money. We can't be on television every night telling people about Infiniti because we don't have the money. So in terms of our communication activity, that will be in line with the introduction of new products and our network roll-out. It will be linear with the volume growth of the brand.’

‘Yes, through the physical experience of buying a car plus the aftermarket care. For example, partly in answer to our very thin network coverage, we will come and pick up your car and have it serviced, no matter where you are. So if you live in Paris and are in Brittany, you call us and we will come to Brittany, collect your car and have it serviced. And if you are in any car, not just an Infiniti, and it breaks down, because you are an Infiniti customer we will take care of you. The customer is covered, rather than just the car. I was once told by a customer that if we can match BMW’s level of dynamic performance with Lexus’s level of customer service then we will have something that’s unique. That’s stuck with me because I think nobody is doing both of these at the moment. One of the things I often tell my team is not to focus on being somebody else but to be ourselves. Don't be a copy. People who have this amount of money to spend on a car can afford to buy many things and for sure they won't buy a copy. We need to be original.’

‘That’s a very interesting question. Do we think the customer in the UK is fundamentally different to the customer in Hungary or Poland? I don't. I think they have the same buying motivations, their taste might be a little different and you can see that in the mix that all brands have across the European markets. There’s more commonality across Europe than you think. People who buy our cars, for example, are making a deliberate choice to be different because they are going to have to spend time explaining to their friends and relatives why they have chosen one of our cars rather than a default brand – and I think that motivation is the same for all buyers… I guess.’

‘Performance – we want to be known as a performance brand. One of the questions I’m often asked is why is a 3.7-litre V6 our smallest petrol engine, why nothing smaller, and my answer is that we want to establish ourselves firmly in the customer’s mind as a performance brand today. Secondly, hospitality. I want Infiniti to be known as an hospitable brand both in terms of customer service and in terms of product too. Our cars are quite warm. Because this sector is dominated by the Germans it’s become the default choice in the premium market to be quite cold and clinical and very engineering focused. That even comes through when you walk into our competitors’ showrooms – they tend to be quite cold places. We are trying to bring some warmth and colour to the premium segment, underpinned by satisfaction both with the brand and the car. These are the two pillars of the Infiniti brand.’

‘The people who are buying our cars today, the early adopters, will probably have a different buying motivation than those that buy our cars in three of four years’ time. Our levels of awareness today are very, very small. The last time we measured this, in summer 2009, across Europe we had a 2.5% brand awareness. So today, buyers are looking for an alternative, a car to differentiate themselves through something different, but it’s still very credible. Today’s Infiniti buyers know about cars, if you know what I mean, and I guess that there are people today who buy a premium brand who don't know anything about cars – they make their decision on the strength of the brand. It will take years and years before we get anywhere close to that position.’

‘Well, it took Audi 20 years didn't it? It’s taken Lexus, what, 21 years. It depends on Infiniti’s product cycle, I guess, but with Renault and Daimler, the product cycle should be quicker so it could take us less time. Don't forget that Audi and Lexus started off as different sections of VW and Toyota showrooms. When Lexus started selling the LS they had a little roped off section in the Toyota dealership. It would have been far, far easier and we would have sold more cars if we had utilised the Nissan network for example, but we jumped in the deep end with a bespoke dealership. Most of the dealers that we have signed with are not Nissan dealers, or if they have Nissan franchises, they have them among a portfolio of other brands. When we started this business we took the hard decision that we should do the things that will be right for Infiniti in the long term. That meant a separate network, a relatively high level of investment for our partners to convince the customer of the credibility of the brand. Infiniti has a different team and a different headquarters. You can imagine how difficult this was in the automotive corporate sector…’

‘We will have a business selling 10,000 cars a year, which we should achieve by the end of next year. Everyone in the company appreciates that you don't establish a premium brand overnight. Economic conditions have made it worse for us. The financial crisis has put us back 12 to 18 months. We have tailored the business accordingly. Swings and roundabouts…’

‘Arguably the most difficult time to launch an expensive brand, yes. We need to signify to the market that we are different. The vast majority of people buying into the German luxury brands will not consider Infiniti, but there will be a portion of people who are ready for something different, as long as it is credible. There are enough of those people in the market for us to make money. We are offering a different choice from being German – it’s about customer satisfaction, it’s about a different buying experience, it’s many different parts. I don't want you to think that our marketing position is that “we are not German”. We want to be a credible alternative to the Germans and then offer that level of customer service.’

‘Will taking products aimed at America, talking out V8 petrol engines and dropping in V6 diesel be enough to satisfy the  European market? No, it will not. The core of the range – FX, and G – will be global. But we already have cars today that are not sold globally. The QX has just been relaunched in the US and it will not be global – it will be sold in America, Russia and the Middle East. But it will not be sold in Western Europe because it’s obviously not suitable for that market. The FX is not sold in Japan – another example. And the reverse may be true – we might have some models that are sold in Western Europe that are not sold elsewhere. Powertrains will also be a point of differentiation for our different markets.’

By Ben Whitworth