Infiniti confirms Benz-based A3 fighter from Europe

Magna Steyr to produce Infiniti's all-new A-Class-based premium small car in Austria from 2014

Three months before its Australian launch, Nissan luxury brand Infiniti has announced its all-new entry-level premium small car games will be produced by contract manufacturer Magna Steyr in Europe from 2014.

Motoring.com.au sources have also confirmed the obvious – that Infiniti’s first direct rival for the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series and Lexus CT will be based on the same Daimler MFA platform that underpins Mercedes-Benz’s new B-Class and upcoming A-Class, both of which will also be direct competitors for Infiniti’s inaugural C-segment compact.

Renault-Nissan and Daimler announced a strategic platform- and engine-sharing alliance in April 2010, but Infiniti has confirmed its next G Series sedan – which will be revealed early next year before joining Australia’s upcoming G coupe and convertible on sale here by late next year – will continue to be based on a Japanese-engineered front/midship platform.

Further details will not be announced until the Infiniti-Magna memorandum of understanding becomes an official deal, but the arrangement should provide Daimler with greater economies of scale for its MFA platform – which will eventually underpin at least six models, also including an all-new small SUV, the CLA compact coupe-sedan and possibly a new entry-level two-door – as well as licensing royalties from every small Infiniti Magna produces.

For its part, the deal allows Infiniti to produce an all-new entry model at lower cost in Europe for European and global markets – including Australia, where the new Infiniti range-opener should join the mid-size G sedan, coupe and convertible, the large M sedan and FX crossover before 2015.

Previewed by the sleek Etherea concept, Infiniti’s new baby will be key to its ambitious sales growth in Europe, which itself will be integral to its goal of selling 500,000 vehicles in more than 70 countries globally by 2016 – up from 145,000 last year and representing 10 per cent of the global luxury vehicle market. Last year Infiniti, which was born in the US in 1989 and introduced in Europe in 2008, sold just 3681 cars in Europe – up 54 per cent on 2010 figures.

Infiniti sees the new premium compact as vital in attracting a new audience in large markets like Europe, but also plans to increase its production base by adding manufacturing capacity in the US, where it will produce the JX crossover, and China – where it will produce two new models also from 2014, expanding the Japanese premium brand’s portfolio to more than 10 models.

Bookending the range by 2014 will be the new premium compact and an all-electric luxury sedan, while the radical EMERG-E concept previews a future mid-engined sports car with range-extending plug-in hybrid technology.

Reports suggest Magna could produce up to 60,000 Infiniti compacts annually at its plant in Graz, Austria, which builds the Peugeot RCZ coupe, Mini Countryman crossover and Aston Martin Rapide sedan. Magna Steyr, the European arm of Canada-based Magna International, is also reported to have engineered the new small Infiniti.

“This new vehicle represents a significant opportunity for the Infiniti brand to reach new consumers and grow in key markets such as western Europe,” said Nissan Motor Company executive vice-president Andy Palmer, who is responsible for Infiniti. “We are pleased to be working with Magna Steyr to realize this important product.”

As part of the Daimler-Renault-Nissan technology sharing deal, meantime, Renault will supply four-cylinder turbodiesel engines for the A-Class as well as Infiniti’s new compact and next G models, while four-cylinder petrol engines from Daimler will be fitted to all three models.

This week Nissan USA broke ground on a new factory in Tennessee to produce Mercedes-Benz four-cylinder petrol engines for both Infiniti and Mercedes models - including the C-Class, which will be built at Daimler's Tuscaloosa plant in Alabama from 2014. The new facility is located at the existing Nissan powertrain assembly complex and will have installed capacity of 250,000 units per year from the same year.

The first Infiniti cars to be available in Australia from August – initially only via dealerships in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, with Adelaide and Perth to follow next year – will be the FX medium SUV and M sedan range, with the current G coupe and cabrio to follow in December and a further five new models due here by 2016.

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site…