BUILT WITH AFRICA IN MIND

Tim Abbott knows a thing or two about the BMW powertrain in the Grenadier, having been the boss of BMW SA for many years. Now he is in charge at Ineos Automotive sub-saharan Africa and optimistic about the future for the vehicle in the region.

He cannot confirm how many orders have been taken but local deliveries of the first vehicles are set to begin in October. By that time, three dealerships in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban should be established, although orders will be placed directly with Ineos. In addition, Abbot says they are working with BMW agents for servicing including Polokwane, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, George and Nelspruit and owners will be able to use the network of Bosch Car Service centres.

“The key is to make sure we have excellent service, backup and parts; and that is something we are going to strive towards because we believe a lot of our customers will be adventurers and lifestylers. Many of the customers I met on the 2B Tour currently drive a 110 or 130 Defender. They have all the accessories on their vehicles and are doing a lot of kilometres, going to Namibia or Kenya.”

Abbott and his team are in discussions with aftermarket companies such as Frontrunner and Alu-cab and, unsurprisingly, they are eyeing up the game-viewer market as well.

Initially, Ineos SSA will offer only the station wagon. It is gauging interest in the commercial vehicle option and is keen to bring in the bakkie that should be revealed in 2023. We spoke with Mark Tennant, Ineos Automotive’s commercial director and, while he wouldn’t be drawn on any other derivatives, he did confirm there are more planned. It’s unclear whether any of these will be electrified but the parent company is big into hydrogen, so, of course, it’s already producing a prototype to run on alternative fuel.