Infiniti U.S. chief lays out new hybrids and performance models coming

Infiniti is preparing a flood of new vehicles, including hybrids and high-performance models, as Nissan’s luxury brand busts out after a long slump.

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Models coming from Infiniti (2026-2030) include:

• QX 65 two-row SUV, on sale now.
• Rear-wheel-drive-based sport sedan in 2027.
• New “series hybrid” compact SUV.
• Two body-on-frame SUVs.

Times are tough at Infiniti. The brand offered just two vehicles earlier this year: the $84,000-plus QX80 large SUV and $54,000 QX60 three-row family hauler.

Archrival Lexus outsold Infiniti more than 6 to 1 in the United States in 2025. Infiniti must right the ship and generate meaningful profits as parent company Nissan struggles to come back after years of decline.

What constitutes success for Infiniti? I asked Infiniti U.S. boss Eric Ledieu that question recently in a conference room at Nissan’s North American tech center in Farmington Hills.

“To start the climb,” he said. “Infiniti was lacking product. We’ve got three vehicles in the showroom today. We’ll have seven by the end of the decade.”

Building back one step at a time

The QX65 five-seat midsize SUV – arriving in dealerships now – is the first step. Five-seat SUVs like the QX65 account for 43% of U.S. luxury sales, Ledieu said.

“It’s in the heart of the market, and it solves two problems” with Infiniti’s previous five-seat SUV: rear-seat comfort and luggage room. “It’ll carry four golf bags,” Ledieu declared.

The QX65 is an evolution of the three-row QX60, with a design intended to recall the racy, but ergonomically challenged, FX45 that was Infiniti’s signature vehicle for years.

Infiniti’s planned 2030 lineup

• QX 60 three-row SUV
• QX 65 two-row SUV
• New hybrid compact SUV
• Rear-wheel-drive-based sport sedan
• Two body-on-frame SUVs
• QX80 large SUV

Source: Infiniti

Going deeper into the details of vehicles on the way

Infiniti will add a new vehicle roughly every year for the rest of the decade, Ledieu told me:

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• “A performance, twin-turbo, V-6 sedan” in 2027 offering either a manual or automatic transmission. Rear-wheel drive is assured. AWD seems likely, too.
• An SUV with a new hybrid system. “We expect buyers to be blown away by its dynamics,” Ledieu said. Unlike most hybrids, the SUV’s engine will function solely as a generator, creating electricity for motors that in turn power the wheels. The engine will have no direct connection to the wheels or transmission. A version of the drivetrain – technically, it’s called a “series hybrid” – will debut later this year in the new the Nissan Rogue compact SUV.
• Two new SUVs based on a truck-style body-on-frame architecture. They’ll be available with either gasoline engines or the more common “parallel hybrid” system, in which the gasoline engine powers the vehicle’s wheels while electric motors boost fuel economy and performance.

On top of those new vehicles, the midsize QX60 and 65 both get updates by 2030. The big QX80 SUV will remain Infiniti’s flagship.

‘A tremendous lineup’

With the new vehicles on the road, Infiniti will be a player in 80%-85% of the luxury market, Ledieu told me.

At the same time, more than 80% of the vehicles it sells in the United States will be built here, including the two frame-based SUVs, which will come from the same engineering program as a revived Nissan Xterra off-roader and Frontier midsize pickup. By 2030 the sport sedan and QX will be the only Infinitis imported from Japan.

The midsize frame-based SUVs will be built in the United States. Ledieu said they’ll be designed for “premium adventure,” while the QX60 and 65 are geared more toward urban and suburban use.

Infiniti will also add a performance sub-brand, like Lexus’ F Sport. The first vehicle in that family will probably be a derivative of the QX80. Expect more power, technology and sophistication.

Ledieu said the plan has three prongs:

• More vehicles that cover the heart of the performance market
• “Returning a spirt of performance to the brand.”
• “Elevating the owner experience” – sales and service.

“We’ll have a tremendous lineup,” he said.

Contact Mark Phelan: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Infiniti U.S. chief lays out new hybrids and performance models coming

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Reporting by Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press

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This story was originally published October 5, 2026 at 9:29 AM.