Infiniti Teases QX30 Concept

Compact luxury SUVs have multiplied like “Lord of the Rings” installments, but the Infiniti EX-turned-QX50 is a place holder in the segment. It hit dealerships in December 2007, so it’s older than Gandalf. Enter the QX30 Concept, a low-slung compact SUV that heralds a “future premium compact vehicle,” according to the luxury brand.

Related: Infiniti Cancels Electric Car Plans

Infiniti released the first image of the QX30 Concept — a rear-quarter shot with bulging fenders, converging character lines and bumper-integrated tailpipes — ahead of a full debut at the 2015 Geneva International Motor Show in March.

The QX30 Concept has aluminum bumper trim up front, with 21-inch wheels and carbon fiber in the roof rails and lower cladding, Infiniti says. The rails themselves merge toward the center of the vehicle, which passengers can see through glass roof panels.

The QX30 does not necessarily signal the demise of the QX50, even as the latter car’s sales have slowed to a crawl — just 188 cars in January 2015, a fraction of the similarly priced Acura RDX or Lexus NX. Still, it’s a good bet Infiniti will build the small SUV, and it could share underpinnings (or replace entirely) with the Q30 hatchback concept, which Infiniti showed in 2013. Infiniti says the QX30 is about an inch taller than the Q30.

Stay tuned for more photos from the Geneva show.

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