Infiniti continues dealer expansion

JAPANESE luxury car-maker Infiniti's busy start to 2016 continues with the expansion of its dealer network that adds a second retail centre in Sydney and a service centre in Adelaide.

Infiniti Centre Castle Hill in north-western Sydney will commence operations under the massive Automotive Holdings Group (AHG), with sales set to kick off from next month.

Early operations will take place at the Castle Hill dealership of sister brand Nissan, with Infiniti planning to establish a dedicated Infiniti showroom soon.

The Castle Hill dealership will serve as a showroom for dealer sales as well as providing aftersales customer service and technical support.

The area was chosen by Infiniti for its proximity to western Sydney hubs such as Parramatta and Cherrybrook, and it will be the second Infiniti dealership in the NSW capital after the Infiniti Centre Sydney was opened as the brand's inaugural Australian dealership in 2012.

Meanwhile, Infiniti will open a service centre in Adelaide that will deliver full aftersales and technical support services to Infiniti customers, however it will not have a retail space, for now.

The Infiniti Service Centre North Adelaide is located on the site of Main North Nissan, Adelaide's largest Nissan dealer.

The service centre will help to lay the groundwork for the expansion of a fully fledged Infiniti dealership in the Adelaide area, as the company continues to expand its network.

The news follows the recent announcement of a new Infiniti dealership opening in Perth.

Infiniti Cars Australia managing director Jean-Philipe Roux said that 2016 is shaping up to be a bumper year for the company Down Under.

“2016 will be Infiniti’s biggest year so far in Australia,” he said.

“Following the opening of Infiniti Centre Perth, our first authorised dealership in Western Australia, we will open two more important centres: our second Retail Centre in Sydney with Infiniti Centre Castle Hill and our first Service Centre in North Adelaide.

“We have more new retail centres scheduled and, importantly, their commencement dates coincide with the arrival of five new and updated Infiniti models.”

The new-model roll-out started earlier this month, with the updated Q70 sedan that will compete with premium competitors such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series and Jaguar's new XF.

Next up will be the Q30 compact hatch and its QX30 small crossover twin in the third quarter, followed by the Q60 sports coupe in November.

At about the same time the updated Q50 sedan, with the top-spec variant set to boast a 298kW twin-turbo V6 engine, will also arrive.

Infiniti Cars Australia is hoping that by the end of 2016 it will have finalised up to 10 new dealerships across the country, greatly expanding its potential customer base.

This is a long way from 2012, when it launched in Australia with one dealership each in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

Sales figures have increased steadily since launching, culminating in 574 total sales in 2015.

Both Infiniti Centre Castle Hill and Infiniti Service Centre North Adelaide will be open from early March.