Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s venture to build a rival to the Land Rover Defender doubled its losses to £186 million last year, as it geared up for production of the offroad vehicle in France.
Ineos Automotive drove heavily into the red in the year to December 2021, having lost €106 million (£93 million) the year before. In the four years since it was founded in 2017, it has racked up losses of more than €500 million (£440 million), while absorbing loans from its parent, the chemicals giant Ineos Industries.
Its latest accounts, filed at Companies House, revealed that an intercompany loan from its parent doubled to €944 million last year. With its combined losses, it puts the total bill for the new car’s development at about