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Hong Kong/Shanghai – Infiniti today took the covers off its Infiniti Q70L Bespoke Edition at Auto Shanghai 2015, showcasing its concept car-inspired interior for the first time in front of the predominantly Chinese crowd.

The special version of the production Q70L, with a 5.9-inch (150 mm) longer wheelbase, features four luxurious seats wrapped in rich white quilted leather. This exploration is meant to fill the gap between the current interiors in production cars and luscious interiors of Infiniti's concept cars.

Shaped by meticulous craftsmanship and three-dimensional textures, the cabin of the Q70L Bespoke Edition has been transformed into a cossetting space, hinting at how the artistry of Infiniti's concept cars can become reality.

The production model of the Infiniti Q70, and two more Infiniti concepts – the Q80 Inspiration and Q60 Concept – were also making Auto Shanghai debuts.

The four-door Q80 Inspiration is designed to shake up the status quo among large premium sedans with its convention-defying body styling and daring proportions, while the angular exterior of the two-door Q60 Concept is a boldly designed precursor to a premium sports coupe to be produced in 2016.

"Today's display reinforces Infiniti's distinctive design language of power and artistry, with the Q70L translating that seamlessly into an interior treatment," said Roland Krueger, president Infiniti Motor Company. "Our growing product portfolio is continuing to be inspired by our progressive design language as Infiniti further enhances its distinctive presence in the premium world."

Infiniti's global sales increased by 13.5 percent in 2014, with 186,200 vehicles sold. In the first quarter of 2015, the automaker recorded its best ever quarter of sales worldwide: 52,000 cars sold representing a year-on-year increase of 12 percent. Read more about recent Infiniti global sales performance here: Infiniti continues strong sales pace.

During the same quarter, sales in China increased by 28.3 percent year-on-year, highlighting the growing importance of the market in Infiniti's ambitious global business plan. Building on recent investment, the next few years will see Infiniti's manufacturing footprint continue to expand to five countries on three continents, and its global dealer network by the end of 2016 will grow by a third from the current 490 worldwide Infiniti Centers.

Hong Kong/Shanghai – Infiniti today took the covers off its Infiniti Q70L Bespoke Edition at Auto Shanghai 2015, showcasing its concept car-inspired interior for the first time in front of the predominantly Chinese crowd.

The special version of the production Q70L, with a 5.9-inch (150 mm) longer wheelbase, features four luxurious seats wrapped in rich white quilted leather. This exploration is meant to fill the gap between the current interiors in production cars and luscious interiors of Infiniti's concept cars.

Shaped by meticulous craftsmanship and three-dimensional textures, the cabin of the Q70L Bespoke Edition has been transformed into a cossetting space, hinting at how the artistry of Infiniti's concept cars can become reality.

The production model of the Infiniti Q70, and two more Infiniti concepts – the Q80 Inspiration and Q60 Concept – were also making Auto Shanghai debuts.

The four-door Q80 Inspiration is designed to shake up the status quo among large premium sedans with its convention-defying body styling and daring proportions, while the angular exterior of the two-door Q60 Concept is a boldly designed precursor to a premium sports coupe to be produced in 2016.

"Today's display reinforces Infiniti's distinctive design language of power and artistry, with the Q70L translating that seamlessly into an interior treatment," said Roland Krueger, president Infiniti Motor Company. "Our growing product portfolio is continuing to be inspired by our progressive design language as Infiniti further enhances its distinctive presence in the premium world."

Infiniti's global sales increased by 13.5 percent in 2014, with 186,200 vehicles sold. In the first quarter of 2015, the automaker recorded its best ever quarter of sales worldwide: 52,000 cars sold representing a year-on-year increase of 12 percent. Read more about recent Infiniti global sales performance here: Infiniti continues strong sales pace.

During the same quarter, sales in China increased by 28.3 percent year-on-year, highlighting the growing importance of the market in Infiniti's ambitious global business plan. Building on recent investment, the next few years will see Infiniti's manufacturing footprint continue to expand to five countries on three continents, and its global dealer network by the end of 2016 will grow by a third from the current 490 worldwide Infiniti Centers.

YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) -- Battery-powered electric vehicles don't have a practical future as a long-range alternative to conventional cars even if technological breakthroughs allow them to be charged quickly, a top engineer at Toyota Motor Corp. said today. 

Electric vehicle (EV) supporters have touted developing high-speed charging technology as the way forward for cars like Nissan Motor Co.'s Leaf. But Yoshikazu Tanaka, chief engineer of Toyota's hydrogen fuel-cell car Mirai, said that would guzzle so much energy at once as to defeat the purpose of the EV as an ecologically sound form of transportation.

"If you were to charge a car in 12 minutes for a range of 500 km (310 miles), for example, you're probably using up electricity required to power 1,000 houses," Tanaka told a small group of reporters at the first test-drive event for the production version of the Mirai, the world's only mass-market fuel-cell car.

"That totally goes against the need to stabilize electricity use on the grid."

Even as rivals such as Nissan and Volkswagen AG promote battery EVs, cars like the Leaf require lengthy charging, reducing their attractiveness for customers planning to drive longer distances frequently. The Leaf requires about eight hours for a full charge using a 200-volt outlet, giving a listed driving range of around 84 miles in the United States.

"Toyota isn't denying the benefits of EVs," Tanaka said. "But we think the best way to use them is to charge them at night (to avoid peak power consumption hours), and use them for short distances during the day."

Instead, Toyota says hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) offer the most promising zero-emission alternative to conventional cars since they have a similar driving range and refueling time.

While FCVs require massive investment and government subsidies for fueling stations, Tanaka noted that hydrogen -- the most abundant element in the universe -- could be extracted from many different sources and had the advantage of being portable and more easily stored than electricity.

He noted that the southern Japanese city of Fukuoka last month completed a fueling station that uses hydrogen made from sewage and that could power about 70 Mirai FCVs a day.

"Of course, there are technological hurdles that need to be cleared to make this commercially viable," he said.

"But remember 'Back to the Future'? In that movie, a car from 30 years in the future comes back to the present -- the year 1985," he said, referring to the flying Hollywood time machine that was powered by garbage.

"The Mirai doesn't fly, but this year, 2015, is that future."