Ineos likes to keep it old-school, except when it comes to EVs.
In a shocking turn of events, Ineos CEO and founder, Sir Jim Radcliffe, recently announced that it would be adding a smaller, battery-powered off-roader to its range.
We say a shocking turn of events, not just because we love a good pun. Ineos Automotive, part of a much larger multinational chemicals company, owes its existence to the Land Rover Defender. Not the modern Defender old Defender owners love to hate, but rather the old boxy version that was retired in 2016 because it really just needed to end.
That’s when previous-generation enthusiast, Sir Jim Radcliffe, decided to build a spiritual successor to the old Defender and everything it stood for and called it the Ineos Grenadier.
To be fair, the Grenadier looks like a reasonably good product, and a modern BMW diesel engine powers it. Still, it is odd for a company that relies so heavily on old-school design and building techniques to go the electric route suddenly.
“What we’re also looking at quite carefully at the moment is a smaller electric version of the Grenadier,” said Ratcliffe in an interview with Drive.
The good news is that the smaller Grenadier will stay true to the Ineos roots. In other words, it will be a proper off-roader and workhorse, but smaller.
“We need to embrace the future, which clearly, in an urban environment, is going to be electric – but even in a country environment, if you’re a farmer, you probably will have an electric vehicle you can drive around on tracks and things like that,” said Radcliffe.
Radcliffe also mentioned that Ineos would continue to research hydrogen as a possible fuel source for the Grenadier. Given BMW’s work in the hydrogen space, it makes sense. And with BMW’s massive investment in BEVs, its relationship with Ineos might also come in handy when the smaller electric off-roader arrives.
The smaller Ineos is nothing more than an idea at this stage, and it will likely follow after the hydrogen Grenadier, assuming that makes it to production. Ineos will likely need a new name to go with it, and if we might be so bold, we suggest calling it the Taser.
