Tycoon seeks UK subsidy for ‘Defender’

Ineos has had interest from European countries to build its new 4x4 vehicle, the chemicals giant disclosed yesterday.

The business plans to build 25,000 vehicles a year from 2020 based on the famous Land Rover Defender which went out of production in 2016.

But despite the overseas interest, Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire chairman of Ineos, said its preferred location for the project was likely to be on the UK’S eastern seaboard between Scotland and Hull.

The company already runs the Grangemouth plant north of the Border. Ratcliffe said of the planned £600 million project: “In an ideal world we would like to build it in the UK, which is where its heritage is based.

“But we have had a significant amount of interest from the Continent, where we could use existing facilities.” Ineos said the project would employ 1,000 workers directly, with up to 10,000 additional jobs created indirectly.

Three versions of the car would be built – petrol, diesel and hybrid – but there are no current plans to build an electric version because of the weight of the battery needed to power it.

Ratcliffe said companies in a number of countries, including Germany, had the space and skilled workforce available to build the as-yetunnamed 4x4, adding it would be a “challenge” to base production in the UK without a government subsidy.

About 200 engineers will be working on the project by the end of the year and Ratcliffe said the aim was to make a world-class 4x4 that was rugged, reliable and “cool”. 0 Jim Ratcliffe – vehicle to be reliable but ‘cool’