Ineos Automotive wants to market its first model, the Grenadier, soon. For the time being, however, it seems that we will have to wait a little longer for the special all-terrain vehicle.
Ineos managed to attract a lot of attention with the Grenadier last year. An off-roader that is clearly inspired by the previous Land Rover Defender, although Ineos himself says that it took many different icons as an example. Either way, there will undoubtedly be a market for it and it certainly doesn’t look bad. The fact that Ineos – which has grown in the petrochemical industry – is serious, is evident from the fact that it has taken over the Smart factory in France from Daimler. There, the Grenadier has to roll off the assembly line, possibly even as a HEV with a Hyundai fuel cell in the long run.
Before that happens, there is still a lot to be done, it now appears. Initially it seemed feasible to start production in late 2021 or early 2022, but Autocar now understands from Ineos that this is not possible. July 2022 would be the new target date. The manufacturer does not give concrete reasons, but there are in any case ‘unavoidable delays’ in the run-up to production. The worldwide chip shortage may play a role. The development of the Grenadier itself may also have been delayed. After all, the 4×4 is still in a testing phase. The cars already presented are all early prototypes. We will see.