Infiniti in diesel and hybrid first

Infiniti will be the first to offer both diesel and hybrid powered versions of the same car.

The company is set to introduce a BMW 5 Series rival called M, and when the car goes on sale in the UK in 2011, there will be both a diesel version and a petrol-electric hybrid offered.

Currently, car makers offer both petrol-electric hybrid engines and diesels, but not in the same model.

The diesel is likely to be the 3.0-litre V6 unit used by Renault in its Laguna Coupe.

Infiniti is the luxury arm of Nissan, which has an alliance with Renault. It is thought that Infiniti is able to share any technology used throughout the union.