Nissan Motor's Infiniti luxury brand plans to build two models - including at least one long-wheelbase sedan - in China starting in 2014.

A long-wheelbase version of the Infiniti M35h was displayed at Infiniti's booth at the Beijing auto show. Information about the other model to be built in China is not available.

Last week, Nissan said the two Infiniti models will be produced at its joint venture with China's Dongfeng Motor Corp. But the company has yet to disclose which plant will produce it.

Three factors are essential to the success of a global brand in China: design, performance and roominess inside vehicles, said Shiro Nakamura, Nissan's design chief at the Beijing auto show on Monday.

And long-wheelbase models are a must for a luxury brand who wants to succeed on the Chinese market, he added. "We actually decided about two or three years ago to launch long-wheelbase models only for China," he added.

Infiniti aims to increase its global sales to 500,000 units by 2016, up from 14,600 units last year. China will be a "key contributing factor" to achieving the target, Nakamura said.

In China, Infiniti's sales were below 20,000 units in 2011, a small fraction of the figures achieved by leading luxury brands including Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

To date, at least five global brands - Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac and Volvo - have launched locally produced stretched sedan models in China to cater for Chinese consumers' liking for extra leg room in the rear seat inside a car.