RSA-bound Ineos Grenadier production begins in France

The South African-bound Grenadier SUV, developed by British chemical giant Ineos, has gone into production, the company said last week.

That's more than a year later than originally planned, but a lot has changed in the past year, even before disruptions caused by the pandemic are considered.

Production takes place at the former Smart plant in Hambach, France, which Ineos purchased from Mercedes-Benz in 2020.

Ineos made some key upgrades to the plant, including adding a new fully-automated body shop and semi-automated paint shop, and upgrading the general assembly facility.

A modern quality assessment facility was also added to the site.

The rugged, utilitarian off-roader draws its name from an old word for a specialised soldier (as well as the London pub in which the idea was conceived), and features a design clearly inspired by the original Land Rover Defender.

Ineos chief Jim Ratcliffe was prompted to develop the vehicle after Land Rover announced it was ending production of its original Defender.

Seeing there was still demand for a rugged, no-nonsense off-roader from the mining, forestry and agricultural industries - as well as from enthusiasts - Ratcliffe wanted to continue offering a vehicle like the original Defender.

In fact, he even tried to buy the rights to the old Defender from Land Rover, but was denied.

The Ineos Grenadier will be sold with a choice of either a 3.0 litre turbo-petrol six-cylinder or a 3.0 litre turbo-diesel six-cylinder motor, sourced from BMW.

For the local market, Ineos has signed deals with SMH Group to cover the Pretoria and Johannesburg regions, while SMG will be used to cover Durban and Cape Town.

These groups will be responsible for sales and servicing, with further locations to be announced later for servicing only.

The first Ineos Grenadiers are expected in South Africa in December.