英菲尼迪：期待比肩豪华车德系三强（A）

This case describes how Infiniti marketed its brand and products in China with innovative mode. Infiniti had been a relatively unknown niche brand in China’s market in 2013, but it was put in the spotlight there in 2015 with 33.8% year-on-year sales growth, being the only premium car brand to grow at more than 30% in China. It was Daniel Kirchert, managing director of Infiniti China, that steered Infiniti toward remarkable progress. Kirchert joined Infiniti in May 2013. Looking forward to being on par with the German Big Three automakers (Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW) in 2017, Infiniti is playing catch-up mainly in the Chinese market, which is expected to bring in sales of no fewer than 100,000 units. In 2012, however, Infiniti sold only 16,000 cars in China. Case (A) depicts the trajectory of Infiniti in China before 2015, including the headquarters’ new positioning of the Chinese market, and the measures Kirchert took for brand localization and marketing. In Case (B), given a slump in the Chinese market in 2015, Infiniti made a strategic shift from brand building to product marketing so as to achieve the desired short-term results. How is Kirchert sure that Infiniti’s annual sales will achieve 44% growth on average in the next five years and that the brand will be as influential as the German Big Three? Will he continue to adjust the marketing strategy in an ever-changing market?