Infiniti is recharging its attack on BMW and Audi.
Nissan's premium brand wants to use the structural changes enabled by the industry's shift toward electric and self-driving cars -- such as a larger cabin and fewer components under the hood -- as a chance to inject a Japanese touch of simplicity and space into its models. That entails a minimalist approach to the interiors, with a goal to cut back on buttons and controls, a la Apple Inc.
"There's clearly a reduction of mechanical element and that's what's happening with the brand, and that's become an inspiration for us," Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan's design chief, said in an interview at a newly renovated showroom at Infiniti's design center near Tokyo. "That's how we kind of drifted into the Japanese DNA."
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