'Ineos Automotive aims to produce 200-300 thousand vehicles per year in 4-5 models'

Since 2019, the company has investedmore than EUR 700 million in the production site in Hambach, France, where the Grenadier model was born. "We cannot give financial details, but I can say that last November we recorded our first profitable month. We are now profitable on a monthly basis, but we are still in a phase of large investments, especially in range extender technologies. So, we are not yet close to recovering our investments, but since last November we have become profitable."

The new challenge now will be the 'Fusilier' model, our first 4x4 electric vehicle from Ineos Automotive, which will hit the market in 2027. "One of the main innovations we are bringing with the Fusilier is to offer it with two power options: one is a pure battery electric for short and urban trips without any hassle, and the other is an electric vehicle with a range extender, which will also have a small combustion engine that acts as a generator to recharge the battery. So, it is not really a hybrid, but an electric vehicle that can use the combustion engine to recharge the battery during long journeys, eliminating range anxiety. This type of vehicle offers the possibility of recharging the battery or refuelling to cover long distances. We think this is a great innovation, even though it has not yet been developed much in Europe.

The European Union's ban on petrol and diesel cars from 2035 puts vehicle manufacturers in the position of having to find alternatives, but Carder notes: 'I don't think electric is the only future, but part of the future. I think electric vehicles are important for short, urban trips, and this could represent 20-30% of total travel in the future. The problem is that governments want 100 per cent of new vehicles to be electric, but I don't think that is realistic. Suffice it to say that many European countries do not have enough electricity to support 100% electric vehicles by 2035. For example, in the UK last winter, 40% of electricity still came from fossil fuels. We must be careful to imagine that an electric vehicle automatically means zero emissions'.

Meanwhile, the company, outside Europe, aims to expand its activities in the United States and Mexico.

Since 2020, Ineos Automotive has been working with The HALO Trust as a development partner for the Grenadier. Founded in 1988 by two former British servicemen, The HALO Trust is the world's largest humanitarian organisation committed to mine clearance and weapons disposal and operates in over 30 countries with 12,500 local deminers worldwide.

The first programme of the collaboration between the two was an operation in Angola, during which it was possible to gain first-hand experience of the extreme working conditions in which the organisation's fleet of 4X4s operates. Seeing how the vehicles cope with rough and sometimes completely impassable roads, often handling vehicle repairs in the field with only the help of a few basic tools, helped shape the Grenadier's ongoing development. One of the Grenadier prototypes also helped The HALO Trust clear minefields in Kosovo.