10:00 am, November 22, 2024
Production of the Ineos Grenadier and Quartermaster will restart in the new year after the 4×4 manufacturer was forced to halt production due to what it called a ‘critical component shortage’.
The company was forced to mothball its production line at the former Mercedes-Benz factory in Hambach, France, just days after seat manufacturer Recaro filed for bankruptcy leading to speculation that this was the source of the production delay.
Now however, bosses say a solution has been found and work will resume from January.
The news would appear to secure hundreds of jobs at the plant with Ineos now looking forward to growing into new markets throughout 2025.
‘It’s great news that a solution has been found so quickly,’ said Lynn Calder, CEO of Ineos Automotive.
‘Automotive supply chains are extremely complex, but we were not willing to compromise on quality, so we are satisfied that we have found the best possible outcome.
‘By this summer we had sold as many Grenadiers as we had for the whole of 2023, and are on track to have over 20,000 Grenadiers on the road before the end of this year.
‘We now turn our attention to preparing Hambach to restart in early January and with significant growth in major new markets – including China and Mexico – and substantial expansion in the US, I believe 2025 is going to be our best year yet.”
‘I’d like to give a huge thanks to our customers for their patience. We are happy to get back on track and look forward to handing them the keys to their Grenadiers asap.’
Ineos Automotive’s Hambach plant produces the Grenadier station wagon, Quartermaster double-cab pick-up, and Quartermaster double-cab chassis models for delivery to customers across five continents.
David Bailey, professor of business economics at the Birmingham Business School, previously wrote about Ineos’s situation for Car Dealer. You can read the full piece here.
