- The automotive arm of the British chemicals giant is working on its first all-electric model but will also sell it as a range extender.
- The Grenadier is currently sold with BMW diesel and petrol engines.
- Ineos committed over $2 billion to hydrogen powertrains in 2021 but paused the project last year.
More and more battery-electric off-roaders are hitting the market and with even the iconic Mercedes-Benz G-Class going electric, it seems inevitable that even more will follow suit. However, Ineos Automotive is echoing Toyota’s sentiment and believes that different powertrain technologies will be needed well into the future.
The Ineos Grenadier is currently sold with BMW-sourced petrol and diesel engines but the marque is already dabbling in hydrogen fuel cell and battery-electric powertrains. While recently speaking at a conference in Frankfurt, Germany, Ineos Automotive chief executive Lynn Calder said combustion engines “suit” the Grenadier.
Read: New Ineos Fusilier EV Is A Smaller SUV With Optional Range-Extender
“We are not saying that electric vehicles do not have a place,” she said. “We very much believe that they do have a place. But I just do not see a scenario where 100 percent of powertrain requirements are fulfilled by electric.”
Ineos has already previewed its first all-electric off-roader, dubbed the Fusilier. The new model will hit the market in 2026 and also be offered as a range extender to maximize its range. According to Calder, Ineos is championing “a rational approach” and “coming up with a multifold set of technologies” that will help it to achieve emissions targets.
“Nobody has asked the drivers what they want,” she told Auto News. “If the customer does not want to drive it, if it does not fit into the driver’s life it will fail. If we do not think about the grid and how we are going to actually fund it, it will fail. If we do not think about where the electricity is coming from, then it will fail.”
Ineos is developing the Fusilier alongside Magna in Austria and confirmed it’s underpinned by a bespoke skateboard platform. While technical details are being kept under wraps, it should have a range of up to 249 miles (400 km). In 2021, the firm also invested $2.3 billion in green hydrogen and was developing a fuel cell version of the Grenadier.
However, in early 2023, Ineos said it had delayed the launch of the hydrogen Grenadier because of the lack of refuelling infrastructure.
