Who Makes Infiniti Cars?
Infiniti is the luxury vehicle division of Nissan Motor Company, launched in November 1989. Cars are built in Japan, the US (Tennessee) and Mexico.
Quick Answer
Infiniti is made by Nissan Motor Company. It launched on November 8, 1989, the same year as Lexus and three years after Acura.
Production is split between Nissan's Tochigi plant in Japan, Smyrna, Tennessee and Aguascalientes, Mexico. Corporate headquarters moved from Hong Kong to Yokohama in 2020.
The Parent Company
Nissan Motor Company is a Japanese multinational and the sixth largest automaker in the world by units. It owns Infiniti in full and also holds cross shareholdings with Renault and Mitsubishi under the Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi Alliance.
Infiniti operates as a separate business unit inside Nissan but shares platforms, engines and manufacturing capacity with parent Nissan models.
How Infiniti Started
Nissan started planning a US luxury brand in 1985 to compete with the incoming Toyota and Honda luxury sub brands. The launch lineup in 1989 was the Q45 flagship sedan and the M30 coupe.
Infiniti's marketing was famously unusual in the early years: the first ads showed nature scenes rather than the car itself, meant to project understated Japanese luxury.
Where Infiniti Cars Are Built
The Infiniti Q50 and Q60 come from Tochigi, Japan. The QX60 three row SUV is built in Smyrna, Tennessee alongside the Nissan Pathfinder it shares underpinnings with. The QX50 and QX55 are built in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Nissan's Tochigi facility is also where the GT-R supercar is hand built, which shares some engineering DNA with high performance Infiniti prototypes over the years.
How Infiniti Differs From Nissan
Infiniti uses variable compression turbocharged four cylinder engines (the VC-Turbo) that Nissan does not offer on mainstream models. Interior materials and sound deadening are also upgraded.
Platform sharing is common: the QX60 shares its bones with the Nissan Pathfinder, and the Q50 was closely related to the Nissan Skyline in Japan.
How Infiniti Compares To Rivals
Infiniti has struggled with US sales since 2018, and the lineup is smaller than most rivals. It prices below Lexus and Acura and often runs aggressive lease deals to move inventory.
Reliability is mid pack. Consumer Reports typically ranks Infiniti behind Lexus and Acura but ahead of most European luxury brands.
How To Trace Any Product Back To Its Manufacturer
- Read the fine print on the label. US and EU packaging law requires either the manufacturer name or a "distributed by" address. That is your starting point.
- Search the company's SEC filings. Public parent companies list subsidiaries and manufacturing sites in their 10-K annual reports.
- Check the regulator establishment number. For food, drugs, cosmetics, cars and appliances, the plant of origin can often be looked up in public regulatory databases.
- Follow the money. Press releases about acquisitions and joint ventures are the fastest way to spot who really controls a brand today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Infiniti a division of Toyota? No. Infiniti is owned by Nissan. Toyota's luxury brand is Lexus.
Where are Infiniti cars assembled? Japan (Tochigi), the US (Smyrna, Tennessee) and Mexico (Aguascalientes).
Is Infiniti going out of business? No, but sales have shrunk and the lineup is smaller than it was five years ago.
When did Infiniti launch? November 8, 1989 in the US and Canada.
What This Means For The Shopper
Understanding who makes Infiniti cars today matters for a few practical reasons. First, corporate ownership tells you who is legally responsible for the product, who handles a warranty claim, and where a safety recall would come from. Second, ownership determines the supply chain: brands owned by the same parent often share components, factories, technology and even entire platforms, which is why you sometimes see nearly identical products under different labels at very different prices.
Third, ownership tells you which alternatives are functionally the same product. Whether it is a paper mill, a contract apparel factory or an auto assembly line, the same site frequently produces for several brands at once under different specifications. That is why store brand and lower priced siblings can be a smart substitute for the marquee Infiniti product when you do not need the marketing.
What To Watch Going Forward
Consumer brand ownership keeps consolidating. In the past five years alone, several major consumer brands (including some that makes Infiniti cars) have moved between parent companies through spin offs, sales and joint ventures. Expect more of the same over the next five years as conglomerates rationalize portfolios and as private equity continues to reshape mid cap consumer brands.
If you buy from Infiniti regularly and care about who profits from your purchase, it is worth checking the label, sticker or badge every year or two. Ownership changes are usually announced in trade press but rarely make consumer headlines, so most shoppers miss them until the packaging or branding gets a subtle redesign to reflect the new parent company.
Bottom Line
Infiniti is Nissan's luxury sub brand, launched the same year as Lexus but never quite catching up. Cars are built in Japan, Tennessee and Mexico, share engineering with Nissan and are usually the aggressive value pick in a luxury shopping list.