Infiniti Q30 Hits U.S. Mid-2016
Infiniti says its Q30 will finally go on sale in Europe by the end of this year, with U.S. dealerships getting the compact hatchback by the “late spring [or] early summer” of 2016, an Infiniti spokesman confirmed to Cars.com.
Related: Infiniti Cancels Electric Car Plans
The Q30 has been a while coming. It debuted as a near-production concept almost two years ago, and the wait took so long that we wondered earlier this year whether the new QX30 crossover concept would replace it.
That’s apparently not the case. Infiniti announced a production Q30 would debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show this September and hit overseas dealerships “towards [sic] the end of 2015.”
Pricing is still undetermined, but the Q30’s packaging suggests it will compete against entry-level luxury cars. That’s an old segment; two decades ago, Infiniti’s own G20 sedan was among the mainstays. But shoppers have renewed their interest in recent years, snapping up the Acura ILX, Audi A3, Buick Verano and Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class at a rate that should justify more products down the road.
Still, Infiniti’s decision to bring in a hatchback instead of sedan is a bit of a gamble. After all, Lexus’ CT 200h, another hatchback, has drawn only moderate interest, and Volvo canceled the C30 hatch after just one generation.
How will the Q30 do? A lot of that depends on the car itself, of course. Stay tuned for more details.
