To Infiniti or Not To Infiniti....

The Infiniti Q50

Infiniti is a budding car company here in Malaysia. Not a whole lot of Malaysians would know what an Infiniti car is. This is because Prior to the 1990s, there was no such thing as an Infiniti. An Infiniti is actually Nissan's luxury car marque that they use to target the premium motoring segment in where a regular Nissan would not be able to. This is very similar to what Toyota is offering when they started Lexus.



Anyway, Infiniti are new to the Malaysian market. They are only a few years old to date. They want to sell their cars to the towkays, pimps, businessmen and professionals of Malaysia. So they have about two showrooms that I know of in the Klang Valley. One is in a food hub close to the Pavillion (which I think still exists..or not) and one is located on the ground floor of a new building called The Icon located along Jalan Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur too. Heck, one or two locations in the Klang Valley and that's about it.

Now of course the service you get at the one or two Infiniti centers is going to be fantastic. You will be greeted by the sales advisors who will personally entertain you whilst you go around poking and prodding the cars on display. They will serve you coffee or tea too. And maybe more.

Anyway, who are Infiniti buyers? I suppose these would be those that are looking for a premium car in the likes of Audi, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes Benz. I say so as have you seen how much Infiniti charges for an entry level car? Infiniti wants to charge approximately RM250,000 for their entry level Q50 sedan. This is actually the Nissan Skyline over in Japan. These days we have to note that the 'Skyline' moniker is used for small executive coupes or sedans and no longer a 'GT-R'. So you're basically paying for an Infiniti Q50 nee Nissan Skyline. Not that the Skyline isn't a bad car. It is a good looking rear wheel drive car and what a traditional compact premium sedan should be.

The issue with Infiniti is brand power. Infiniti goes up against the traditional players and also Lexus which seems to be decently accepted over here. Lexus is also a Toyota and the Toyota name is super strong in these parts. Nissan may be an old player here too but its prestigious cache isn't as grand as Toyota. Of course with the Infiniti name, it would be a different ball game. Or so Nissan wants us all to think.

But aside from premium car customers wanting to show that they've made it in life and that most are traditionalists and would only buy from the usual brands, there is the customer experience that would need to be fulfilled. This is the issue I have with buying an Infiniti here in Malaysia. The After-Sales experience.

So buying an Infiniti would be just as impressive as buying an Audi, a Lexus or a Mercedes Benz (from an authorised dealer okay...not from a grey import) . There is personalised service and the sales people will treat you extremely well. In fact, go to Lexus and they treat you better than some other premium European brands. When you sign the dotted line and then when they hand over the key, it is usually mighty impressive. This is the case with most premium brands. I should know. I've been there and done that. And with Infiniti, this purchase experience would be a memorable motoring experience. But then you get to servicing the darn thing.

You see, Infiniti is basically Inspired Motor Sdn Bhd. This is a joint venture company between Edaran Tan Chong Motor and Auto Dunia Sdn Bhd. Inspired Motor will be responsible for the retailing of Infiniti vehicles; Auto Dunia is the franchise holder. EdaranTan Chong Motor andAuto Dunia is actually companies under the Tan Chong Group. These people own Nissan Malaysia and obviously these people are the ones that would sell Infiniti over here. But if you intend to buy an Infiniti or have bought an Infiniti, you'd realise that Infiniti does not seem to have its own 3S center at all. There is not even one right now in the Klang Valley, the heart and soul of money in Malaysia. So if you bought an Infiniti, it would enter the same service center as the durable and spacious Nissan NV200.

If you service your Infiniti in Malaysia, it may rub shoulders with this Nissan NV200 at the service center....you might rub shoulders with its owner too

It may also be serviced alongside this 'Tough on the outside, comfortable on the inside' Nissan Navara single cab. If you're lucky, your Q50 hybrid, which would cost RM400,000 would have its oil change beside one with a wooden frame rear section. And if you're luckier and service your Infiniti at the large Nissan service center in Batu Caves, you could spend your time in the waiting room with Ah Kau the Fish Trader from the Selayang Wholesale Market right after he finishes his job for the day. I was told that because your Infiniti is so special here in Malaysia, Edaran Tan Chong has specially allocated two, I repeat, two (2) exclusive service bays for Infinitis over at the Batu Caves service center. With this two exclusive and special service bays, your Infiniti after-sales experience will be on par with the one offered by Lexus at its Mutiara Damansara 3S center. Boy, I want an Infiniti so bad.

Ooooh...check out that wooden body on the rear of that pickup. Exclusive isn't it? Wood 'trimming'. Luxury...oooooo!

So could it be seen as a half baked thing that the distributors of Infiniti are doing?  On a premium brand point of view it falls way short of what the others are doing. When Lexus officially came into the market, UMW Toyota actually put up a whole lot of money into its operations. They started up a complete 3S center from the word 'go' and have never looked back. After about five years or so, they are in Penang, Johor Bahru, Ipoh and even in Kuching. What Infiniti needs is a dedicated service center for the ultimate Infiniti Experience. And it should have been done from the start.

The argument would be that the Tan Chong group does not want to spend unnecessarily on a budding brand. Infiniti sells about 200 cars per year and according to what I've heard the senior management does not want to spend money on a dedicated service center until there is sufficient volume. I think Infiniti has been around for almost three years but you hardly see any on the road. Maybe the only ones around are those used by top ranking Tan Chong and Auto Dunia executives. Who knows. But what I do know is that to sell  luxury you need exclusivity. And again, you must spend money from the start as do you think people who are used to being pampered in luxury at a Lexus, Mercedes or BMW service centers like sharing their waiting space with Fish mongers, brick layers, contractors and other supposed small fry? We're talking luxury here folks. Not equality and human rights. A luxury brand should be luxurious throughout.

I mean, is allocating two dedicated service bays exclusive enough? The experience would be left wanting even if you are told that you could send it to the Infiniti center at The Icon knowing that your premium car is making friends with a lowly pickup truck or a plumber's van. Imagine the bastard children it'll have if it were a pedigree poodle.