Ineos Automotive, the vehicle brand that aims to disrupt the 4×4 market with its rugged Grenadier, is entering a critical phase of strategic growth and adaptation.
Speaking to Automotive Management, Tom Johnson, the brand’s regional director for the UK & Ireland, provided an in-depth update on the company’s powertrain outlook, reworked retail model, and vision for long-term expansion.
As the UK’s new car market progresses to a zero emission future, the UK Government’s policies have been causing headaches for many OEMs, but less so for niche brands such as Ineos. Its annual sales remain below the 2,500 registration threshold, which means that as a small volume manufacturer (SVM) it avoids the target mix of zero emission vehicles.
Ineos Automotive, the vehicle brand that aims to disrupt the 4×4 market with its rugged Grenadier, is entering a critical phase of strategic growth and adaptation.
Speaking to Automotive Management, Tom Johnson, the brand’s regional director for the UK & Ireland, provided an in-depth update on the company’s powertrain outlook, reworked retail model, and vision for long-term expansion.
As the UK’s new car market progresses to a zero emission future, the UK Government’s policies have been causing headaches for many OEMs, but less so for niche brands such as Ineos. Its annual sales remain below the 2,500 registration threshold, which means that as a small volume manufacturer (SVM) it avoids the target mix of zero emission vehicles.
Its UK registrations plunged 60% to 350 units in 2024, SMMT data shows. Supply was hit after the collapse of its seat supplier, Recaro, which forced Ineos to halt production for months.
Ineos has shared the concerns of other vehicle manufacturers that consumers have received mixed messages about the need to progress to electric vehicles .
“In overall terms, and certainly from a UK perspective, obviously we’re conscious of the changes in the announcement by the government,” Johnson says. “As a small volume manufacturer in the UK, we’re protected to a certain extent, from those mandates.”
While the recently announced regulatory leniencies for low-volume manufacturers offer temporary breathing room, Ineos is far from complacent. “Our position has been pretty clear in terms of needing to have a greater degree of clarity and certainty from the EU and UK government, so not only manufacturers but also the customer can have confidence in terms of their choices.”
Ineos, which builds its Grenadier in France, made headlines last year with the announcement that its all-electric Fusilier SUV, scheduled to launch in 2027, was to be paused. The Fusilier (pictured) was planned to be available in two powertrain variants – one a pure-electric and the other essentially a hybrid, with a range extender internal combustion engine to charge the battery pack.
But as Johnson noted, the speed with which the UK reached the decision to allow hybrid versions to be sold until 2035, made the range extender component difficult to justify in terms of investment without sufficient legislative assurance.
“For us, as a startup challenger brand, we needed to have the commitments from government to firstly, develop a car that was aligned to what the legislation currently is, but also a vehicle that customers and consumers want to purchase.”
From agency to dealer: a more focused network
As Ineos transitions from an agency to a traditional dealer model, the brand is embarking on a strategic repositioning aimed at giving consumers and retailers greater flexibility and autonomy.
It means reducing the 26-strong sales network that Ineos initially apppointed in 2021 in the UK, run by 19 dealer groups, to around 10 partners operating 12 to 14 dealerships.
Authorised repairers will fill some of the gaps, providing collection and delivery of customer vehicles for service and aftersales slightly out of zone before the network structure is bedded in.
There are also open points in the south east of England.
Johnson says the smaller network reflects Ineos’s better understanding of where to find its target customers.
“We now know where our consumer centres are and we’re looking to focus more on serving the demand in those markets.”
Amidst the structural changes to the network and shifting market demands, Johnson is keen to highlight the company’s focus on customer experience.
“There may be a little bit of an uncertainty for consumers in the changes that we’ve made,” he admitted. “But we are fully focused on looking after those consumers going forward.”
This includes enhancing aftersales coverage and ensuring new dealer partners are onboarded across the next nine months to restore local access in areas temporarily impacted by closures. “We’re fully supporting any customers that have been impacted and we’re also making sure that we fully look after and support our new customer base as well.”
“Part of the move to a dealer network, away from the previous agency network, is really to optimise our opportunity to grow further,” Johnson says.
The shift will allow dealers to have greater input in the sales journey, including autonomy in part exchange deals and local marketing efforts. “It’s about giving more control into the network to support the customer,” Johnson says.
UK sales performance and growth plans
After the slump in UK sales of 2024 Ineos is experiencing upward momentum in orders here now, according to Johnson.
He stops short of revealing precise sales targets for 2025, but says that growth will be driven in part by diversification of the product’s appeal.
The Grenadier began life as a purist’s 4×4 but is capturing broader audiences outside the scope of the original working vehicle remit, a crucial development for a vehicle with a list price exceeding £60,000 new.
Johnson adds: “Our early utility vehicle consumers remain the ambassadors for our brand although we recognise that we’re a growing OEM and we are increasingly selling the Grenadier to customers who are using it as a lifestyle enabler.”
That expansion also includes a bigger focus on fleet and commercial buyers who seek a truly robust off-road vehicle. Typically these include the agricultural and forestry sectors and utility companies.
“We sold more wholesale vehicles in the first quarter of this year than last, and we are heavily focused this year on growing our fleet opportunity and commercial use.”
‘Distinctly different’ in market positioning
Part of Ineos’ identity is rooted in being deliberately unorthodox, a theme that’s running through its current marketing efforts.
Ineos launched a bold new advertising campaign that appears set to rekindle its ongoing rivalry with Land Rover, following their much-publicised legal disputes.
A digital billboard was unveiled directly outside Lookers Park Royal JLR showroom in West London, featuring a mud-splattered Ineos Grenadier nose-to-nose with a gleaming Defender. The image was paired with the daring slogan: “Let’s take this outside.”
A day after launching the campaign, a Grenadier with a mobile billboard hitched on a trailer was driven to JLR’s Solihull factory
Ineos describes the campaign’s tagline as a “cheeky, provocative caption” designed to “raise a smile.” But there’s a clear competitive edge, as the brand explains its intention to distinguish the Grenadier from what it calls “regular school-run SUVs and soft-roading crossovers” – a pointed reference to the modern Defender.
“We’re not the same, we’re not trying to be the same,” Johnson said of the new ad campaign launched in early April. “We are acknowledging the competitors in the market, but actually, we’re distinctly different, and we’re going in a direction that is offering something different to consumers.”
The campaign was created “with humour and grace,” according to Johnson. “As a small brand with an ambition to grow significantly, we have to find different ways of communicating that.”
A brand dedicated to off-roaders rather than ‘soft-roaders’ Ineos has previously marketed its cars as ‘built for more’ and ideal for drivers who want to explore and discover.
Ineos finds itself at a pivotal point. A brand still in its infancy, it has now matured past the novelty phase and needs to now translate ambition into sales performance.
Johnson sums up the challenge facing the brand: “We’re a low volume business, but we’re an ambitious challenger brand that wants to grow well above that and not be restrained by volume limitations and mandates.
“We want to push ahead and grow our volumes.”
