Infiniti Revamps Model-Naming Format

Starting with the 2014 model year, Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti brand will prefix all car names worldwide with Q and all crossover/SUVs with QX.

A double-digit number will follow to indicate where the model falls in Infiniti's hierarchy. The first of the renamed models, the Q50 sport sedan, will debut next month at the Detroit auto show.

Infiniti President Johan de Nysschen says the new naming scheme is intended to help shoppers make sense of the company's model lineup. He also says market research showed that consumers like the Q nomenclature, which honors the brand's original Q45 sedan introduced 23 years ago.

Infiniti says it will phase in the new naming protocol as variants of current models debut in 2014. Existing models will receive news names when they are replaced by next-generation designs over the next few years.