Nissan's luxury vehicle manufacturing arm, Infiniti Motor, has announced its intention of moving its global headquarters from Hong Kong to Japan. The premium automotive brand revealed that it will be building its new headquarters in the city of Yokohama next year to be closer to its parent company.
According to the carmaker, the plan will be to move to Japan sometime in the middle of 2020. The main reason for the relocation is apparently to help it shift towards electric and autonomous vehicles, a task which its parent company would be able to better assist in if it was situated closer to its facilities. Infiniti will be able to take better advantage of Nissan's global design and manufacturing facilities, which are mostly located in Japan.
There are currently only a select few foreign companies that have established their headquarters in Hong Kong. Most companies, apart from those in the financial sector in Hong Kong, traditionally set up their business headquarters in places where it can attract the most customers. Infiniti has not really been doing well in China, with its sales gradually decreasing over the past few years.
Last year, the company sold around 45,940 units in China, a 5 percent drop when compared to its sales in the previous year. The carmaker's sales in the United States have also slumped by 3 percent, with the company selling around 149,280 units last year. Infiniti has somewhat been successful in the sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment with relatively great sales numbers for its popular QX50 SUV.
In a statement released to the press, Infiniti's general manager for global communications Trevor Hale mentioned that the relocation is vital for the company's planned electrification. By being closer to its parent company, Infiniti will be able to evolve much faster with better access to Nissan's research and development facilities.
Hale clarified in his statement that Infiniti was not moving because of any shortcomings from Hong Kong's part. Instead, the move was mainly a business decision that made a lot of economic sense. After its move, Infiniti will continue to run as an independent brand, but it will be sharing its back-office functions with Nissan.
The company will reportedly be focusing more on its popular SUV line-up and its plans to introduce five new models to China. Infiniti will, unfortunately, have to let go of some of its employees in Hong Kong, but there will be some from its 180 staff members that will be moved to Japan as part of the relocation.
Nissan originally launched the Infiniti brand in 1989, the same year Toyota had launched its own luxury vehicle brand called Lexus. Nissan decided to establish the brand's headquarters in Hong Kong in 2012, in an attempt to attract buyers from the world's largest car market.
