Ineos Grenadier will get a smaller purely electric 4×4 derivative Car News

The rugged Ineos Grenadier SUV – due in UK dealerships in a few weeks – will be followed by a smaller, all-electric sibling model.

Ineos Group CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe has confirmed plans to extend the model range beyond the flagship Grenadier with a smaller SUV, which could slash the larger’s £49,000 starting price car.

It will use an “all-new” platform, Ineos said – shortened to match the new car’s entry-level pricing, but will maintain a similar focus on off-road capability and similarly position itself as a “battle horse”. The Grenadier is heavily inspired by the Land Rover Defender, which has long been available in a range of sizes, and so Ineos now appears to be fielding its own version of the shorter Defender 90.

It will be built alongside the passenger and commercial versions of the Grenadier at Ineos’ factory in Hambach, France, but the company has not yet given an estimated timetable for its market introduction.

With the Grenadier positioned as a rival to the Land Rover Defender 110, Jeep Wrangler and Mercedes G-Class, the stage is set for this new entry-level model to take on the Dacia Duster and Suzuki Jimny in an affordable, compact format. . 4×4 segment – even if it will stand out above all for its all-electric motorization.

Comments from the company boss suggest this new model could go into production as a smaller derivative of the Grenadier – perhaps like the relationship between the rugged US-market Ford Bronco and its more style-focused Bronco Sport sibling. life, which uses a different platform.

“What we’re also looking at very carefully right now is a smaller version of the Grenadier – electric,” Ratcliffe said, giving the first details of the new model.