Infiniti’s Big SUV Beats Lexus Once Again

Last year, Infiniti launched its new QX80. It was the first version of Nissan’s redesigned full-size SUV, coming out before the Nissan Armada, and the results impressed us. It delivers better on its luxury mission in every aspect, making it a real competitor. It seems that buyers agree. This quarter, the QX80 reversed its declining sales numbers, and it thoroughly topped one of its closest competitors: the Lexus LX.

Turning The Tides

In the first quarter of this year, Infiniti sold 4,064 QX80s. That’s 64.3% more cars than the 2,473 in the same quarter last year. It’s a good sign for the brand. Last year, QX80 sales were down by 18.6%. The big SUV is fairly important for the brand, too. Last year, it barely missed out on being Infiniti’s second-best-selling model. It fell just behind the QX50 and the QX60.

The QX50 is also interesting, because it, and its coupe-like twin, the QX55, are on their way out, possibly without a replacement. So existing models such as the QX80, and upcoming models such as an updated QX60 and QX65 coupe variant will need to be able to take up the slack. Besides needing to fill a potential sales hole, the QX80 is also probably a high-profit vehicle for Infiniti, since it’s an expensive SUV based on more mundane truck components. So strong sales from it will be particularly beneficial.

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Topping The Fancy Land Cruiser

The Infiniti’s rising sales also mean it will continue to hold a comfortable lead against the Lexus LX. Like the Infiniti, it’s basically an extra-plush version of a Toyota SUV, the venerable Land Cruiser. And unlike the Lexus GX and American Toyota Land Cruiser, the LX is based on the full-size “real” Land Cruiser. In this last quarter, the LX saw a slight increase in sales from 1,697 to 1,704 year-to-year. That’s obviously a fair way off of the 4,000-odd QX80 sales.

The Lexus has been lagging behind the Infiniti even before now, though. Despite the slowing sales last year, Inifniti’s roughly 10,000 QX80 sales trounced the 6,830 LXs that Lexus moved. Of course for Lexus, the LX isn’t such an important vehicle. Two Lexus models, the RX and the NX, individually sold more units last year than all of Infiniti combined.