The Grenadier is built at the former Smart factory in Hambach, France
Shortage of trim pieces means output is unlikely to resume until 2025
Ineos has paused production of the Grenadier indefinitely after one of its critical suppliers hit financial difficulties.
Ineos Automotive CEO Lynn Calder told Automotive News Europe that it is unlikely to restart until “toward the end of the year or early next year” because the company has run out of a trim piece “that we can’t sell the car without”.
Calder said the supplier of the part is in a “pre-insolvency situation” and that Ineos is seeking an alternative manufacturer for the trim piece.
The pause comes at an awkward moment for Ineos, which is on the cusp of launching in the critical Chinese market, as well as in Mexico.
According to figures from analyst Jato Dynamics, Ineos sold 847 Grenadiers across Europe (including the UK) between January and the end of August this year, a drop of 35% compared with the same point in 2023.
Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders states that Ineos has registered 187 cars in the UK so far this year, a 67.9% reduction on the 583 that it had sold by the end of August last year.
These figures make its global expansion – to regions where large SUVs are in greater demand – especially important.
As previously reported by Autocar, Ineos is also planning a move upmarket, having put development of the smaller electric Fusilier on hold.
“What we wanted to achieve is no longer possible,” said George Ratcliffe, who was recently promoted to the role of Ineos’s chief for North America. “When the Grenadier project started, what we said was: ‘We’re going to build a really affordable, easy-to-fix utilitarian vehicle that will be good for farmers.’ It’s a gap in the market. But with the modern world and what you need – engines, pedestrian protection rules, CO2 emissions, regulation on vehicles – you cannot do that any more.”
