Infiniti Bets Big on Cupholders to Win Over American Families

Infiniti, Nissan's luxury brand, has struggled to keep pace with rivals like Lexus and Cadillac for years. Now, its executives think they've found the answer: the humble cupholder. The move is aimed directly at improving the brand's JD Power Initial Quality results, as buyers often equate cupholder design with overall quality.

The three-row QX60, a family SUV, is where this strategy plays out. Infiniti has fitted the vehicle with eight cupholders and four bottle holders. The front row gets two, the middle row gets two more, and the third row gets four. That's more than one per passenger. The third-row cupholders double as phone holders, with a USB-C port nearby, and one is designed to fit two large bottles or a big phone like the latest iPhone Pro Max.

Chris Fischer, a senior manager at Nissan Technical Center North America, said the goal from the start was clear: "A 32-ounce reusable water bottle, it's got to fit there; those larger sizes of sports drinks, front or rear, they've got to have a place." Infiniti points to the 2026 JD Power Initial Quality Study, which found that "cupholders are the biggest single contributor to the year-over-year improvement in initial quality."

Designing these cupholders is harder than it used to be. Fischer noted that reusable water bottles come in many sizes and shapes, making the task challenging. Infiniti uses dozens of mock-ups, from Red Bull-style cans to Nalgene bottles to coffee mugs with handles. Testers fill the cups to 75% and drive around the proving grounds to ensure they stay in place.

Bad designs could lead to spills or even lawsuits.

Infiniti still faces bigger issues, like having only three vehicles on sale, two of which are versions of the same model. The QX60, which went on sale in late 2021 and was refreshed last year, feels dated. But this cupholder focus shows that once buyers get inside, they tend to like what they see, especially when it comes to holding their drinks.