Images have been released of the production line inside the factory that will make the Ineos Grenadier as the vehicle’s launch gets ever closer.
The first prototype Grenadiers are now rolling off the line at Ineos Automotive’s Hambach plant in preparation for launch series vehicles in July.
The images offer a tantalising glimpse of the production of the vehicle dubbed the spiritual successor to the old Land Rover Defender, which went out of production in January 2016 after almost 70 years in production.
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The Grenadier project was born out of the enthusiasm of Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who originally wanted to keep the old Land Rover Defender in production.
When tentative moves to buy the old Defender production line from Jaguar Land Rover were rebuffed he decided to go it along and Ineos Automotive was born.
The aim was to deliver a stripped-back, utilitarian, hard-working 4×4 and Ineos have promised the Grenadier will be “a truly uncompromising 4×4 built from the ground up”.
Initially production was to take place in South Wales, on the site of the former Ford factory in Bridgend, with some additional manufacturing taking place in Portugal.
However, it was subsequently announced that the vehicle would be made in a former Mercedes-Benz factory in Hambach, France.
Ineos acquired the Hambach plant from Mercedes-Benz in January 2021.
The company said the opportunity made more financial sense than its original plan.
Since then it says it has invested more than €50m in facilities and the site’s skilled workforce to build on its long-standing reputation.
That comes in addition to the €470m invested in 2019 by Mercedes-Benz in an all-new production line.
Production prototypes rolling off the line at Ineos Automotive’s Hambach plant signal the final stage in the company’s transition from ‘project’ to automotive manufacturer.
The line now dedicated to the Grenadier includes a new fully-automated bodyshop, a new semi-automated paintshop, and an upgraded general assembly facility.
Hambach also benefits from a new high-tech quality assessment centre.
Having taken 12 months to reconfigure the new line for the Grenadier, Ineos says it is nearing the end of a first production try-out (PTO1) phase.
It says building 130 PTO1 Grenadiers is crucial for defining the assembly process and also provides the engineering team with production-representative vehicles for final rounds of testing and certification.
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.
At the same time preparations in all commercial parts of the business continue to ensure Ineos is ready for customers.
More than 100 sales and service partners around the world have been nominated, and contracts have been signed with parts distribution and retail finance partners.
Dirk Heilmann, CEO of Ineos Automotive, said: “Some 15,000 customers worldwide have reserved their Grenadier.
“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.”
Full pricing and specifications for the Grenadier will be announced in April, when customers in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Middle East can finalise their orders either directly with Ineos online, or via their local retailer. North America will follow later this year.
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