Will The Ineos Grenadier Be North America’s Next Great Adventure 4×4? – Forbes

Newcomer Ineos Automotive, a division of global chemical giant Ineos, is poised to take on the North American 4×4 landscape with its Grenadier 4×4. But will faithful Wrangler, Bronco, or Defender owners switch their allegiances for a British-designed and German-assembled newcomer?

A workhorse vehicle with the necessary grit to compete for the attention of off-road adventure enthusiasts, the Grenadier is inching closer to reality, and hopefully, winning over the hearts of buyers who typically hew to the long-established 4x4s in the marketplace. Although the pricing schedule for the Ineos Grenadier has not been divulged, it’s expected to hover slightly above the top-end Wrangler and Bronco 4x4s in the U.S.

Grenadier Grand Scheme

To Ineos Automotive, the Grenadier is an “uncompromising” SUV with a back-to-basics approach to on-road function and off-road capability. Its rugged exterior indeed backs up the statement.

Greg Clark, Ineos Automotive’s executive vice-president of the Americas, joined the company in early 2021. His vision is for the Ineos Grenadier to be a collector vehicle: a sought-after classic that will hold its value for decades to come. It’s a goal that mirrors Land Rover’s coveted Defender, a vehicle with which the Grenadier shares an undeniable resemblance.

“Our principal focus, at the moment, is North America—primarily U.S.A.—given its market size and opportunity. It’s going to be a difficult nut to crack,” Clark stated, “as there is some great domestic competition here. It’s very tribal; it’s a very interesting market, and I’m looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead.”

To earn the respect of consumers and competitors, Grenadier is busy subjecting the Ineos to a stiff testing regimen to find its weak points and fix them before production. “After 1,000,000 miles of testing, the Grenadier has to be dependable,” said Clark. Current testing is undergoing in the high altitudes of the Colorado mountains as well as the sweltering heat of Death Valley. Grenadier pre-production vehicles have been tested in temperatures ranging from minus 40 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

International Pedigree

Though Ineos Automotive calls London home, the company recently purchased a Mercedes-Benz factory in Hambach, France. Production is slated to begin in late 2021. Its anticipated arrival to the marketplace will start in the United Kingdom in 2022, with North American deliveries slated for the summer of 2023. In addition, the company is currently finalizing agreements with retail and aftersales partners globally and plans to institute approximately 200 sales and service points for the North America Grenadier market launch. (Ineos selected Raleigh, North Carolina as its North American headquarters.)

Ineos’ partners will carry out a first-class worldwide aftersales scheme, initially developed by Ineos and Robert Bosch GmbH over the last three years. Retail entities are set to create the base of the service network, with supplementary geographical attention delivered by carefully considered Bosch Car Service channels. There is strong interest from BMW to service Ineos Grenadier’s BMW-sourced engines.

For North America, Ineos Automotive’s s goal is to create an extensive service network including multiple established dealer groups and 4X4 specialists to ensure most Grenadier owners will be within an hour of an approved service facility. Ineos has set an aggressive goal to supply parts delivery to major markets within one day when items are not in stock locally.

As Ineos Automotive continues to dive deeply into North American retail and service partner potentials, the Grenadier “has got to stand on its own two feet or on his own four wheels,” Clark said. The company’s goal is to be profitable, “not just for ourselves, but also for our partners.”

Online Sales

“If preferred, customers in most of our main markets will be able to buy their Grenadier online, including organizing vehicle finance and handling any part exchanges,” said Mark Tennant, Commercial Director at Ineos Automotive. “But we fully accept that most will want to try before they buy, for which having an extensive network on the ground is essential.”

Ineos’s latest announcement stated approximately 75,000 people signed up to be prospective buyers of Grenadier. They can reserve vehicles starting from September 30 for an exclusive two-week period. Then, on October 14, build reservations will be opened to the public.

Grenadier’s Exterior Style and Utility

Although the Grenadier may echo lines of a classic Land Rover Defender 110 4×4, Ineos states the Grenadier 4×4 was independently designed. Ineos’ design direction combines simplicity and off-road capability but offers a modern twist.

Vehicle side-roof-mounted grab handles and a rear-facing ladder give easy access to the Grenadier’s roof, ideal for quick stow-and-go scenarios when carrying rooftop cargo. Side-mounted-track rails, known as airline tracks, line the Grenadier’s sides, making easy work for mounting fuel canisters, shovels or other expedition-type gear. Diamond-plate armor adorns specific wear areas on the vehicle’s body. They will help keep feet planted during engine maintenance and other duties.  

Build and Overlanding Capability

The Ineos Grenadier utilizes a body-on-frame construction with a galvanized steel chassis, front and rear solid axles and a coil-sprung suspension. A BMW-sourced straight-six gasoline engine and eight-speed transmission with manual shifting ability and a two-speed transfer case comprise the powertrain. North American owners seeking a diesel option will be out of luck—at least to start. Ineos is also looking for alternative fuel options: a fuel cell powertrain or an all-electric option could be considered.

The Grenadier is set to boast approximately 750 pounds of rooftop static load capacity. It will also offer a near-class-leading 7,000-pound towing ability, perfect for hauling off-road trailers for remote excursions.

Additionally, the Grenadier entrant may include factory overland-ready options like underbody skid plates, rock sliders, a front-mounted winch and meaty BFGoodrich mud-terrain tires. It’s not yet determined which options will be offered as a standard affair or future upgrade potentials.

Ineos Automotive is talking to many aftermarket manufacturers to offer rooftop rack accessories to help haul paddleboards, bicycles, and rooftop tents. The Ineos Grenadier will also offer off-road-ready features like pre-wired systems for auxiliary lights and winches and a wide variety of switches to run them efficiently.

Minimum Tech, Maximum Functionality

Answering common complaints about the “fragility or Achilles heel of technology,” Clark stated, “The Grenadier will be equipped with the minimum technology you need and nothing you don’t, to ensure that we are focusing on off-road capability, blended with comfort, convenience and technology where it makes sense.”

Ineos’ engineering goal is to “have 50% less ECUs in the vehicle to go wrong than our next-closest competitor.” They aim to mitigate what might go wrong in the field, as electrical gremlins are not as easy to diagnose and fix as are basic mechanical issues.

In addition, the company is slated to include a digital three-dimensional CAD-based parts catalog for each Grenadier. There, owners can examine exploded views of the vehicle’s parts, review full part numbers and repair instructions and order official parts directly from Ineos, continuing its warranty coverage. “This cuts down on the guesswork, certainly the ability to affect a repair or maintenance order much more quickly and therefore get the car back into the customer’s hands or get the repair finished as quickly as possible,” Clark says. 

The new Land Rover Defender 90 and 110 series may echo the styling of the original twentieth-century Defenders, but looks alone are not enough for true devotees. Based on that association alone, the Ineos Grenadier has a good shot at making inroads into the market.

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