Grenadier is a go!
In August 2020, we wrote about the INEOS Grenadier 4x4 concept, which promised to be the spiritual successor of the previous Land Rover Defender – as opposed to the official new Land Rover Defender, which is causing a fair amount of discord among Landie enthusiasts. INEOS announced in September 2021 that the Grenadier is definitely on its way to South Africa, and Tim Abbott will be heading the sub-Saharan Africa division. The company has partnered with the SMH Group in Gauteng and the SMG Group in Cape Town and Durban to manage showrooms and workshops on behalf of INEOS. INEOS has also joined up with Bosch – a company that operates service stations around the world. These workshops are willing to service and repair the Grenadier, and parts should (in theory) be deliverable to any Bosch service station within 24 hours. INEOS hopes that eventually its customers will never be more than 50 km away from a service centre. Those who have been salivating for the Grenadier already placed their orders on 30 September 2021. And those of you who are still of two minds can tentatively indicate their interest on INEOS’ website from 14 October 2021 onward. Test drives for the South African media are due to happen soon, and the first deliveries to South African customers will kick off in July 2022. At the time of going to press, prices were not yet final, but Tim reckons it should be around R1 400 000, give or take. It’s a price far above what many Landie owners can afford, but it’s also relatively low when you consider it’s a unique vehicle by a private company (albeit a big one) that need to recover development costs. And yes, Tim confirmed that a bakkie version is definitely being considered, but only after the station wagon has found its feet.
INEOS is an international petrochemical company headquartered in Britain, and the Grenadier is built at a former Mercedes-Benz plant in Hambach, Germany. Contact ineos.com