Pre-production prototypes are already being built, as Ineos gets its sales network ready.
- Ineos’ Hambach, France, plant is ready to launch the Grenadier, with pre-production prototypes already being built.
- The SUV is scheduled to enter production this summer and is expected to arrive stateside in 2023.
- Ineos is readying its global sales and service network, with the company citing 15,000 reservations for the SUV so far.
The Ineos Grenadier is inching toward production, with the company revealing this week the Hambach, France, plant is ready to manufacture the rugged 4×4, with production prototypes already rolling off the assembly line.
Ineos purchased the factory from Mercedes-Benz just over a year ago and reconfigured the plant in about 12 months for Grenadier assembly after investing 50 million euros in the refit.
Ineos says it is approaching the end of the first production try-out (PTO1) phase, during which it is building 130 examples of the SUV.
“The PTO2 phase starts in March to validate the assembly process and build quality, before production of launch series vehicles proves out the supply chain, logistics, and build rate,” Ineos adds.
Separately, the company is lining up its sales and service operation, with over 100 partners around the world nominated so far. The company plans to announce Grenadier pricing in April, ahead of the planned start of production in July. April is also when the first European customers can finalize their orders with their local retailer or online.
Series production is set to start in just a few months.
Ineos
The company plans to reveal full technical specs for the Grenadier in April as well, but a few preliminary details have already been published: One version of the SUV will use a turbocharged BMW straight-six engine, good for 280 hp and 330 lb-ft of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic from ZF. This unit has been tuned to favor torque over horsepower, for better off-road performance. A straight-six diesel (also from BMW) will be on the menu as well elsewhere in the world, if not in the U.S.
“Some 15,000 customers worldwide have reserved their Grenadier,” said Dirk Heilmann, CEO of Ineos Automotive. “We want to deliver a vehicle that’s ready, and we won’t cut corners. With the benefit of the highly skilled and experienced team at Hambach, as well as the expertise in safety and quality that we have employed, we are on target to begin series production in July.”
U.S. pricing is slated to be revealed later in 2022 ahead of the SUV’s expected arrival in the summer of 2023.
The Grenadier will land in a market in turmoil amid a dramatic contraction in vehicle supply prompted by pandemic-related pressures and at a time when many automakers are already transitioning to battery-electric models.
Ineos is contemplating alternative powertrains and is planning to experiment with hydrogen fuel cells. But with Land Rover and others preparing to field EVs in coming years, the Grenadier could soon be one of the last new gas- and diesel-engined models to arrive.
The Grenadier could pick up a large chunk of market share left by automakers that will be producing only battery-electric SUVs in a decade or so.
Keyword: Ineos Grenadier Factory Preps for Production Start