Ineos will launch an electrical SUV positioned beneath the Grenadier in 2026

Though it is a newcomer to the automotive trade, Ineos has large plans for the longer term. It is experimenting with a hydrogen-electric model of the Grenadier, its first mannequin, with Hyundai, and it introduced plans to launch a smaller electrical SUV designed collectively with Magna in 2026.

Official particulars concerning the off-roader are few and much between; Ineos has merely clarified that the yet-unnamed 4×4 can be extra compact than the Grenadier, which stretches about 191 inches lengthy, 76 inches broad, and 80 inches tall, and that Austrian firm Magna will play an enormous function within the improvement course of. The 2 corporations are designing the EV to ship “world-class off-road functionality” and a cushty experience.

The tie-up is not as random as it would sound: Magna helped Ineos make the Grenadier (pictured) a actuality, and the agency has been creating off-roaders for many years. It is too early to debate particulars just like the mannequin’s positioning, nevertheless it’s fascinating to notice that the event course of will embody “a rigorous testing program on Austria’s Schöckl mountain,” which Mercedes-Benz makes use of as a take a look at monitor for the G-Class. Some Gs have even worn a “Schöckl-proven” emblem. The percentages of Ineos releasing a direct rival for the G-Class are low, the corporate focuses on rugged, back-to-the-basics fashions, however studying between the traces means that the electrical SUV will supply G-Class-like off-road capability.

Extra particulars concerning the electrical Ineos SUV will emerge within the coming months. Manufacturing will begin in Graz, Austria, in 2026 — that is the identical facility that has constructed the G-Class for many years (and that additionally builds the Toyota Supra, amongst different vehicles). Within the meantime, the chemical giant-turned-carmaker will proceed testing an electrical variant of the Grenadier which might spawn a production-bound two-door SUV, and its first pickup is tentatively scheduled to make its debut earlier than the tip of 2023. Just like the Grenadier, the truck will fill the hole left by the unique Land Rover Defender. The second-generation mannequin moved considerably upmarket and, in contrast to its predecessor, shouldn’t be out there as a pickup.