Infiniti's new Benz building blocks

New joint-venture project will see Nissan's prestige brand assemble a premium hatch in Europe on Benz mechanicals

Nissan's luxury brand Infiniti seems determined to broaden its horizons beyond North America, its home for the past 22 years.

The boss of the company, Carlos Ghosn, announced at the Frankfurt motor show that he has signed a deal with German carmaker Mercedes-Benz to use the underpinnings of one of its small cars.

Infiniti wants to launch a luxury hatchback to rival the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series and, presumably, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, among others. But rather than engineer its own underbody structure, Nissan will use one that already exists – disguised with a unique, Infiniti-designed body.

The Nissan-Mercedes project is yet another example of how carmakers are sharing components that customers don't see. Such partnerships expedite development, improve access to new technology and keep costs down.

The Infiniti hatch will be a key model for the maker, expected to account for almost half of all the marque's sales in Europe. It also opens Infiniti to electric and/or hydrogen power systems that Mercedes may be developing.

The Infiniti hatch is due in showrooms in 2014. Although it is primarily a European model (available initially with petrol and diesel engines) it is expected to be sold in other regions, including North America and Australia.

Infiniti says the new hatch will share its styling cues with the Etherea concept first seen the Geneva motor show in March and on display again in Frankfurt this week.


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