8:27 am, October 18, 2022
Production of the much-anticipated Ineos Grenadier has finally got underway in France as the firm looks to claw back some of its losses.
Car Dealer reported last week that the Jim Ratcliffe-owned outfit lost an astonishing £186m in the 12 months to December 2021.
Overall, the outfit has put around £1.36bn into the Grenadier and will now be hoping to start seeing some return on the investment.
The first Grenadiers have rolled off the production line in Hambach, north east France, with customer deliveries expected from December.
Bosses say they that ongoing supply chain issues are continuing to constrain output but they still expect to stick to their timetable.
Mark Tennant, Ineos Automotive commercial director, said: ‘We have come a long way since the project kicked off in 2017 and this is a landmark moment for Ineos Automotive as a vehicle manufacturer.
‘To get to this point is a testament to the resilience and hard work of the entire Ineos Automotive team, our development partners and our suppliers – for which we thank them all as we now look forward to making our first deliveries to customers.’
Designed as a utilitarian, hard-working 4X4 with modern compliance and reliability, the Grenadier is available in commercial and passenger forms.
It has been built to go head-to-head with the likes of the Toyota Land Cruiser and offer a more back-to-basics alternative to the new Land Rover Defender.
The range opens with the Utility Wagon model, which costs £49,000, and goes all the way to a £59,000 Station Wagon Belstaff edition, which has been designed in collaboration with the clothing brand.
Al versions are offered with a 3.0-litre petrol that makes 282bhp and 450Nm of torque, or a 3.0-litre diesel that makes 246bhp and 550Nm of torque. Both are sourced from BMW and come with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
In April, Ineos announced that it had 160 sales and service points confirmed around the world at ‘established dealer groups, 4X4 specialists and agricultural equipment dealers’.
There are currently 24 retail locations confirmed for the UK, with each location getting an Ineos training programme for sales agents workshop technicians. Additional coverage will be provided through ‘hand-picked’ Bosch Car Service outlets.
