Splashing out

Ineos order books open next month

Ineos Automotive has announced details of its Australian and New Zealand retail locations.

The 32 sites – mostly situated in rural and regional areas – are part of the brand’s growing network and the first of 160 locations to be confirmed in markets across the globe.

With Australian order books for Grenadier’s four-wheel drive set to open next month, the mix of outlets comprise established dealer groups, 4WD specialists, as well as agricultural-equipment dealers.

The British brand says its retail partners were ‘handpicked based on the extensive knowledge and support they can offer Grenadier customers’.

Ineos has so far named retail outlet locations in Canberra, New South Wales’ Central Coast, Dubbo, Newcastle, Orange, Port Macquarie, Sydney, Tamworth and Woollongong, Darwin in the Northern Territory, across Queensland at Brisbane, Cairns, Gold Coast, Mackay, Noosa, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Townsville, South Australia’s capital Adelaide, Launceston in Tasmania, in Victoria, Ballarat, Geelong, Melbourne, Mildura, Shepparton and Warragul, and Western Australia at Geraldton and Perth.

New Zealand operations will be handled by the Armstrong’s franchise, with locations in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington.

By the end of 2022, Ineos plans to have a network of 200 sales and service sites spanning more than 50 countries.

Speaking to Goauto previously, Ineos Automotive APAC head of sales and marketing Justin Hocevar said the direct distribution model offered by Grenadier would enable customers to ‘distil down what it is they want from our retail strategy’.

“There’s been a lot of surveying and engagement with potential customers to distil down what it is they want from our retail strategy, and from the sales and customer service experience,” he said.

“What we learnt from that is that a direct distribution model with online and face-to-face sales and support is essential to the success of Grenadier in Australia and New Zealand, and we’re working closely with our agency partners to ensure a customer service before sales approach.

“We’ll have bricks and mortar showrooms that will be commensurate with the brand.

“They won’t be gin palaces, just comfortable and purposeful facilities where the Grenadier is the hero and where the showroom is located within reasonable proximity to the Grenadier’s customer base.”

The Ineos Grenadier will eventually be offered in two-seat five-door wagon, five-seat five-door wagon, and five-seat two-door utility configurations.

To date, the company has only announced pricing of the former, which will retail from $84,500 plus on-road costs in Australia.

Deliveries of the first two-seat fivedoor Grenadier wagon are expected to commence at the end of the year.