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‘This company is beyond cooked’: Expert says Infiniti is discontinuing 2 car models. Here’s why that’s a problem

‘CVT killed it.’

Photo of Jack Alban

Jack Alban

infiniti vehicles in car lot(l) Infiniti dealer sign(c) Man shares which infiniti vehicles are being discontinued(r)

According to car enthusiast and TikToker Christopher Pearce (@thechristopherpearce), Infiniti is in rough shape. The luxury Nissan brand has made recent, drastic pivots to save its future business.

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However, Pearce says while this will address future issues with the company, it won’t solve a glaring present problem. And it’s that the business has a purported 6-months of unsold inventory just resting on dealership lots.

Infiniti in trouble

“Listen to how cooked this company is, OK?” he begins. “They’re discontinuing these two cars right here.” Next, two pictures pop up in his video: One of a red 2024 Infiniti QX55 and the other of a 2024 Infiniti QX50.

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According to Car and Driver, these models are indeed going the way of the Dodo bird. However, the automotive outlet indicated they will be replaced by different models in the luxury manufacturer’s lineup. Pearce doesn’t seem too broken up about the fact that these “fancy Nissans” will no longer be on the road. That’s because he calls them “the most boring, inconsequential traffic cars” you’ve ever seen.

What he does believe will be a problem is the fact that there are so many of these cars left in overstock. “But the Infiniti dealerships won’t notice for six months,” he says. “Because they have that much unsold inventory on their lot right now.”

Furthermore, Pearce believes that the decision to kill these vehicles is a directive from Honda. This is because the two Japanese auto manufacturers are combining forces. Which is a maneuver that appears to be spurred on by Nissan’s lack of profits. The brand’s net income dropped by 94% in 2024.

Honda to the rescue?

Additionally, towards the end of last year, Nissan cut a whopping 9,000 jobs. Pearce seems to believe that Honda’s involvement with Nissan can only spell good news for the latter brand.

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“As we all know Honda is saving Nissan’s a** in a merger this year. So I guess they’re finally giving Infiniti some advice to start making moves,” he says. “They’re killing off a bunch of their tired, old, models. Like the Q50, QX50, QX55, terrible naming scheme.”

Pearce went on to state that Infiniti might be trying to target more affluent buyers with its next crop of vehicles.

“And according to the head of Nissan America, Infiniti is planning to go upmarket. So I guess to compete with like BMW,” he continues. “Don’t know if that’s a good plan. But Infiniti has to axe some of these cars.”

The TikToker also pointed to the lack of innovation and updates to Infiniti’s lineup throughout the years. It’s a problem that others have called out. Like this LinkedIn blog post which claims the company has “failed to keep up with competitors.” Specifically, the post says Infiniti/Nissan lags behind “in terms of technology, design, and performance.”

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Pearce says, “I mean insane that they’ve been selling this exact same car for like 15 years. And calling it ‘luxury.’ Obviously sales have been down for the company. I mean you might not even know that these two cars existed.”

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Reiterating how dire of a situation the company has found itself in, Pearce states that the merger is a godsend for Nissan.

“But to be so bad that they six months surplus inventory on the lot right now is absurd. They don’t plan on launching a successor to this car for another year,” he says. “But they could just let the dealership sell what they have. And not produce anymore. This merger can’t come soon enough.”

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In a final thought appended to a caption, Pearce sums up his thoughts of the luxury auto manufacturer: “No one is more cooked than Infiniti.”

@thechristopherpearce No one is more cooked than Infiniti #carnews ♬ original sound – Chris Pearce

Viewers think Infiniti is ‘cooked

Numerous commenters had some ideas on how Infiniti could help captivate the attention of car buyers. “They need to bring back the Infiniti G35,” one person remarked.

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Another person stated that they were happy with their Infiniti purchase: “I have a Q50 and it’s a shame because it truly is a nice car. They should have focused on investing in that and the Q60.”

For one TikToker, the solution was simple: “LOWER PRICES.”

Another user said Infiniti basically lost all of its market share to another Japanese manufacturer. One that is known for producing reliable vehicles, and hitting the “sweet spot” for luxury options in its whips. “Mazda ate them up,” one said.

Which was a sentiment echoed by someone else. “To me, it’s like Mazda is doing what Infiniti has been doing for years but cheaper and not skimping on the quality of materials and parts,” they wrote.

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The Daily Dot has previously reported on others who’ve espoused these attitudes towards Mazda. I.e. that the brand offers “the best of both worlds” when it comes to value, dependability, and feature set.

Like Pearce, one user also believes that Infiniti doesn’t offer consumers the best bang for their buck. They said, “They were so behind on technology and then the cvt!! Killed it.”

The Daily Dot has reached out to Infiniti and Pearce via email.


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