The launch of the Ineos Grenadier, the rugged new off-roader being developed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s firm, has been delayed until 2022.
The 4x4 was due to be launched towards the end of this year, but Ineos Automotive has now pushed back the start of production until July 2022, citing “unavoidable delays” last year.
A prototype version of the Grenadier was first shown in public in September last year, and the machine is currently undergoing testing and development work. The firm has agreed a deal with BMW for a supply of 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six petrol and diesel engines.
Ratcliffe recently drove the Grenadier on an off-road test course in Austria close to the base of engineering partner Magna Steyr, which is leading the development programme. Following the test, Ratcliffe said that “there is still work to do, but I am confident that the Grenadier will do the job we have developed it for”.
Ineos now says it has “intensified” its engineering programme with a second phase of more than 130 prototypes, which the firm claims will complete around 1.1 million miles of testing worldwide. Prototype versions have previously run in Sweden, and future tests are due to take place in America’s Death Valley and the Middle East.
The Grenadier is due to be produced in Hambach, France, at the former Smart factory that Ineos purchased from Mercedes-Benz late last year. The firm had previously planned to assemble the car at a new facility built in Wales.
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By the time this is ready the Defender will have had 3 years to prove its superiority on and off road. If you have an inferior product, either by a lack of reputation or comparitive performance, you have to have a price advantage. Do not see this undercutting JLR, and our utility companies seem to have coped well with the plethora of capable and more affordable pick ups.
Looks more and more like a drunken boast that could only be indulged in by the mega rich , too proud to admit to his mates he was talking out of his ass when it comes to cars.
I'm looking forward to this as I want a "basic" work truck. I do not want a overly complex glittery gin-palace that will last barely as long as the PCP contract. I want a vehicle for 20-30 years, to replace my 30+ year old LR110. That it is built in France is understandable, given that the Hambach plant was a bargain. The vehicle business is international and to survive, Ineos will need to sell this worldwide; the plant location was always going to be an economic decision. Jim Radcliffe did not earn his $Billions by being sentimental. That also goes for his corporate HQ location and tax status.
Mass production of disposable vehicles is an economic and ecological dead end; buy less stuff of higher quality as part of "Reduce, reuse, recycle". None of my household vehicles are less than 9 years old and the 50 year old one is being rebuilt.