Ineos sparks fury in UK with 4x4 relocation to France

LONDON: The Ineos group of Brexit-supporting British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe said Tuesday it was in talks to build a new 4x4 vehicle at a Daimler plant in France, shelving a planned investment in Wales and provoking cries of betrayal. Ineos Automotive had said it was looking to build the Grenadier car-billed as a successor to the iconic Land Rover Defender-partly in Portugal and assemble it in Wales, but was now rethinking that plan because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The company, part of Ratcliffe’s Ineos chemicals group, said the global pandemic had “led to some delays in our development plans, but has also presented some new opportunities in terms of existing manufacturing capacity that were not previously available to us”.

“Specifically, Ineos Automotive has entered detailed discussions with (Daimler’s) Mercedes-Benz on the acquisition of its Hambach site in Moselle, France,” a statement read. “We have therefore suspended the post-lockdown resumption of work at our sites in Wales and Portugal pending the outcome of this review. Further updates will follow in the coming weeks.”

A Daimler spokesperson told AFP: “We can confirm that Ineos Automotive is a potential buyer (of the Hambach plant) and we are going to have discussions.” Daimler caused consternation last week with the French government and auto unions when it said it was hunting for a buyer of the Hambach site near

Germany, which employs up to 1,500 workers making the Smart small car.

The Grenadier, described by the British company as “a stripped back, utilitarian, hard-working 4x4”, was to enter production in late 2021 at a new factory in Wales, creating an initial 200 jobs, the group said in unveiling the car’s design last week. Deliveries of the BMW-powered vehicle were to start first in Britain and Europe, and further afield afterwards, after a total investment totaling £1.0 billion ($1.2 billion, 1.08 billion euros). The factory at Bridgend, near Cardiff in south Wales, was due to be built next to a huge Ford engine plant which is closing this year with the loss of 1,700 jobs.—ÅFP