Ineos confirms additional sales location for Australia

Ineos has expanded its range of service and sales points in Australia before the Grenadier has even touched down.

The company has confirmed it’s added McRae Motors in Wodonga to its initial list of sales and service agents, as it gears up to launch the Grenadier four-wheel drive locally.

That takes the Australian footprint to 29 sites, part of a planned 200-strong global network in 50 countries by the end of 2022.

Rather than a traditional franchise model, Ineos will be operating using an agency business model in Australia.

Ineos confirms additional sales location for Australia

Its dealers have been dubbed “partners” and are responsible for displaying stock, handling test drives, delivering vehicles to customers, and offering after-sales support.

Ineos controls inventory and pricing, and pays its partners a “straight-forward commission” for sales.

The full list of locations (below) includes a smattering of urban locations, but is focused heavily on regional locations.

Not only is that where Ineos expects a significant chunk of its buyers to be based, it’s part of a push to reassure owners they’ll have support if something goes wrong deep in the wilderness.

Ineos APAC region boss, Justin Hocevar, said a strong regional presence signals to “those who live in the large, metropolitan islands on our coast, that when they do travel they’ve got access to the support they need”.

Part of that is also about being able to supply spare parts to owners quickly. The first Ineos global parts warehouse is in Belgium, but the second will be in Melbourne. It’s set to open “very close” to Ineos’ start of sales.

Beyond its own service centres, Ineos says it’s taking an “open source” approach to maintenance.

It’s making service manuals and repair information easily accessible, and launching an e-commerce platform that allows independent mechanics to easily find and buy parts.

It’s taken a similar approach with accessories. Expect to see an announcement on the range of accessories being offered for the Grenadier beyond what’s currently listed in the brand’s configurator in the coming weeks.

“We have taken quite an open-source approach to engaging with the aftermarket,” Mr Hocevar said. “We’ve gone to the aftermarket shows, we’ve spoken to [manufacturers].”

“Some of them we’re in the early days of exchanging agreements where we can provide them with CAD data, and we’ve agreed to provide them with early access to production [cars] so they can do their development work,” he explained.

“It’s quite opposite to the traditional way of saying ‘well I’m going to wrap my arms around my OEM range of accessories and protect that for as long as possible until the aftermarket reacts one or two years after launch’.

“We’re getting on the front foot before we even start selling,” he said.

Retail locations

Aaron Brain Motors, Shepparton
Mackay City Auto Group, Mackay
Armstrong Auto Group, Toowoomba
Magic Enterprises, Geraldton
Autoworld, Ballarat
Magic Enterprises, Perth
Brian Hilton Motor Group, Central Coast
Noosa Auto Group. Noosa
Brighton Automotive Holdings, Melbourne
Northstar Mildura Motors, Mildura
Buckby Motors, Launceston
Pickering’s Auto Group, Townsville
Caravana, Brisbane
Purnell Motors, Sydney
DC Motors, Rockhampton
Rex Gorell, Geelong
Fraser’s, Newcastle
4×4 Garage, Canberra
Fraser’s, Wollongong
SLRV Expedition Vehicles, Gold Coast
John Oxley Motors, Port Macquarie
Tony Leahey Motor Group, Orange
JT Fossey, Tamworth
Warragul City Motors, Gippsland
Kerry’s Automotive Group, Adelaide
Westco Motors, Cairns
Kerry’s Automotive Group, Darwin
Western Plains Automotive, Dubbo
McRae Motors, Wodonga (new)

What is the Ineos Grenadier?

The Grenadier is the brainchild of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the British billionaire engineer and chairman of multinational petrochemical giant Ineos. No expense has been spared on his passion project.

The official story says Ratcliffe was hanging out in London’s Grenadier pub in 2017, bemoaning Land Rover’s decision to kill the old Defender and replace it with the more modern and luxurious new SUV model.

Australia is considered internally to be a “core launch market” for the ladder-frame, rigid axle Grenadier alongside Europe, the US and South Africa, meaning locals get the sort of priority access to vehicles many brands would crave

Production Grenadiers are going to be built at a 210,000 square-metre ex-Mercedes-Benz plant in Hambach, France, that has since been purchased by Ineos. Since 2019 the plant has received a claimed $770 million in upgrades, funded by both Mercedes-Benz and Ineos.

The bespoke development vehicles were built by Magna in Austria, and underwent a widely covered torture-testing program.

Two body styles are being offered in Australia at launch. The Grenadier Utility Wagon is a two-seater with a full-height crash barrier and flat floor that can handle a standard 1200mm x 800mm Euro pallet. The Station Wagon is a five-seater.

Power comes from two 3.0-litre inline-six cylinder engines sourced from BMW. The petrol makes 210kW of power and 450Nm of torque, while the diesel makes 183kW and 550Nm.

Both engines come mated to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission (codenamed 8HP51 for the petrol, 8HP76 for the diesel), with what Ineos calls a new “heavy duty” torque converter.

All Grenadiers come standard with permanent four-wheel drive (4WD), with low-range accessed through a 2.5:1 Tremec two-speed transfer case.

Matching the class-leaders, the Grenadier will also have a 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity.

Ground clearance is listed as 264mm, wading depth 800mm, approach angle 36.3 degrees, break over 28.2 degrees, and departure angle 36.1 degrees. Powder-coated skid plates and a fuel-tank plate are standard.

Pricing

There’s no haggling, with Ineos using an ‘agency model’ with set pricing.

The company will control inventory and pricing, and pay dealer partners with a “straight-forward commission”, much in the style of Mercedes-Benz and Honda.

A deposit payment of $5000 (refundable until the vehicle contract is signed) secures a build slot.

Grenadier Utility Wagon (two-seat)