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Sales of the Infiniti QX56 are down more than a third for the year to date
Enlarge PhotoNissan is reportedly phasing out production of a number of its large vehicles at its Mississippi plant, including the
Nissan Quest people mover, Nissan Armada SUV and the Armada-based
Infiniti QX56. Production in the Mississippi plant will instead focus on a new large vehicle inspired by the
NV2500 Concept unveiled just last month.
While Nissan is yet to confirm the demise of its fullsize
SUVs, vehicles like the Armada and the
Infiniti QX56 have all performed poorly in terms of sales this year, making it more and more likely that they will be dropped soon – plus the fact that
strict CAFE regulations are just around the corner. Currently, the Nissan Armada is selling around half the units it did compared to last year, while the Infiniti QX56's sales are down by over a third for the year to date, reports
MotorTrend.
Nevertheless, the news could just mean that Nissan will be shifting production of these models to other plants, and that the NV2500 will be joining this lineup. When Nissan unveiled the NV2500 last month, it was described as a preview of the company's entry into the North American
Commercial Vehicle (CV) market.
Nissan's entrance into the commercial vehicle market may see the Japanese company sacrifice production of its poorly performing consumer SUVs and
minivans, however there is still no official word from Nissan regarding this yet.
Infiniti launches the 2008 QX56 SUV
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This is what I believe will be the scenario:
• The Quest will be succeeded by a minivanMPV/Crossover-like vehicle based upon the Nissan Forum concept, which appeared in '08 during the show circuit. It should possible be more radical and break new ground.
• The Infiniti Q56 looks to be succeeded, as some reports have indicated, by an SUV based on the JDM market Patrol, perhaps the next-generation Patrol, but be more bespoke for the Infiniti division.
• The Nissan Armada, I'm not certain here - It could be based upon something else next-generation, or just ride off into the sunset.
Above is just my take, and the successors, if planned, would be built in Japan, I figure, and it's based on past reports I've seen.
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