Ineos signing US dealerships for sturdy Grenadier SUV

Rugged, off-road-oriented SUVs like the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler, and Land Rover Defender might soon deal with competitors from a powerful competitor established by the recently produced automobile arm of British chemical titan Ineos.

That challenger is the Grenadier, a boxy, go-anywhere SUV imitated the previous-generation Land Rover Defender, and in manufacturing at a plant in France because the summer. The automobile begins distributions in Europe as well as various other markets in the fourth quarter of the year, and also Ineos is in the procedure of establishing a U.S. dealer network.

From the onset of the automobile’s development, Ineos has urged the U.S. market becomes part of the plan, as well as last summer the firm worked with Greg Clark, a former advertising executive at both Jaguar Land Rover and also Mercedes-Benz, to assist introduce local sales.

In a meeting with Automotive News (registration needed) published recently, Clark stated Ineos already has 5,000 bookings for the Grenadier from U.S. citizens, and that the company was in the procedure of subscribing dealers to transform those bookings to sales. He said Ineos doesn’t intend to go with a direct sales design like numerous rival start-ups, however rather the extra traditional dealership model.

2022 Ineos Grenadier Clark told Automotive News Ineos plans to have around 35 dealers across the U.S. and also Canada, and that a number of BMW car dealerships and European import dealerships have shared interest. Most of the Grenadier’s mechanicals prevail to modern-day BMWs, consisting of the powertrain as well as transmission.

Clark has previously claimed the Grenadier might start U.S. sales before 2023 is out, which to keep points easy the company prepares simply one powertrain for this market, a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-6. In the Grenadier, the engine is mated to an 8-speed automated and a four-wheel-drive system with a 2-speed transfer case. A diesel is used in other markets.

Additionally down the track, a pickup body design and also potentially even a hydrogen-electric powertrain may be used. Ineos has actually likewise meant a smaller sized electrical SUV.

There’s no word on pricing however rumors indicate a base sticker label of around $75,000. Pricing in Europe starts at 68,990 euros (around $69,800).