Darwin dealer wins exclusive rights to sell Ineos Grenadier

Territorians could soon be driving a new 4WD that had its origins in an English pub. SEE WHAT CAR.

A LEADING Darwin vehicle dealership has won exclusive Territory rights to sell a brand new 4WD to hit global markets, set to challenge the dominance of the established off-road marques.

Kerry Automotive Group is expected to begin selling Ineos Automotive’s Grenadier 4WD later this year. It will be one of 28 outlets nationally and 160 locations around the world to sell the British designed and engineered vehicle, named after a pub.

By year’s end, Ineos expects to have at least 200 sales and service sites in more than 50 countries.

Testing on the vehicle began at the start of last year and took in 15 countries, targeting the toughest terrains in the worst possible weather.

According to Ineos’ website, engineers put 130 vehicles through 1.8 million kilometres of testing and development in Sweden, Austria, Granada, Kosovo and Morocco.

How the Grenadier will handle tough Territory conditions remains to be seen but Kerry’s, in Stuart Park, is banking on the vehicle rolling out the showroom in large numbers to match their investment in the project.

The dealership’s management declined to comment until closer to the vehicles’ arrival into the group’s showroom from October but it’s understood there is an expectation the vehicle will be popular in the Territory.

The Ineos Grenadier five seater.

The vehicle is expected to start retailing from $84,500 in Australia and has been described by motoring reporters as the ‘spiritual successor’ to the original Land Rover Defender, despite being independently developed.

The Grenadier’s marque is a ladder-frame chassis off-roader with beam axles and mechanicals described by those who’ve been behind the wheel as ‘straightforward’.

Ineos is a London-based multinational chemical company with interests in the oil and gas sectors.

In 2019, Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe was at his favourite London pub, the Grenadier, wondering aloud how he was going to replace his old Land Rover Defender and believing the replacement model was ‘too soft’.

From those discussions the Grenadier was born and in less than three years the vehicle is expected to be on the market.

Online motoring publication Chasing Cars critiqued the vehicle late last year, comparing its features with Land Rover’s Defender.

“Defender inspiration in the Grenadier’s exterior is clear as day; the industrial bodywork mirrors the Land Rover original’s shapes, though the schmick LED lights and classy detailing keep the Grenadier firmly in the 21st century,” reporter John Law wrote.

“The headline grabber for now is the Grenadier’s intent: toughness, simplicity and reliability were the core characteristics Ineos targeted.

“Initially, the Grenadier will be offered as a wagon-bodied SUV or single cab ute with a dual cab version – sure to appeal to Aussie fans – still in development.”

Originally published as Darwin dealer wins exclusive rights to sell Ineos Grenadier