INFINITI unveils the design of its first all-electric SUV ahead of debut

INFINITI plans to unveil its first all-electric SUV at the 2019 North American International Auto Show this month, but it is now leaking some full images of the vehicle ahead of the debut.

As we previously argued, INFINITI is kind of long overdue in launching an all-electric vehicle considering the pioneering effort of its parent company, Nissan with the Leaf.

But the premium automaker now claims that it will be launching a new “electrified era” with this electric SUV to debut in Detroit next week.

Last month, INFINITI teased the vehicle, called QX Inspiration, with a blacked out image of the SUV and now it unveils the full design of the vehicle with two more images before the debut:

The Japanese automaker didn’t release any specs yet, but it claims that the “QX Inspiration is the beginning of a new era for INFINITI”:

“QX Inspiration is the beginning of a new era for INFINITI and an illustration of where we want to go with the brand. New technology has given us the opportunity to evolve our design philosophy – and the new vehicle communicates the serene strength at our core.”

Earlier this year, INFINITI announced that ‘it will go electric’ starting in 2021, but we have to keep in mind how Nissan and INFINITI talk about electric vehicles.

We have seen several similar announcements over the last year and they are often being misreported simply as ‘(insert automaker) is going all-electric’, like Volvo and Jaguar, which is why it’s important to be clear about what is being announced here.

The main point to understand is that all new models (not existing ones) introduced after 2021 will have an electric powertrain.

According to the automaker, that can mean pure electric vehicles (BEV) and e-POWER vehicles, which are basically electric vehicles with a gas-powered range extender without any plug or all-electric range (HEV).

In 2025, they expect that a mix of these “electrified vehicles will comprise more than half of Infiniti global sales by 2025.”

We should know all the details about their first effort toward that goal, the QX Inspiration, on January 14 during the debut at the Detroit Auto Show.