The Ineos Grenadier, the independently-developed “spiritual successor” to the classic Land Rover Defender, should be coming to America in 2023 as part of its global launch. Plans are in the works for an American dealer network, and a former Land Rover executive has been hired to work on marketing.
The Grenadier was previewed to an American audience last month in Virginia, with a meet and greet at Land Rover importer Commonwealth Classics. The flagship prototype, "IG 0001," was on hand, though the windows are almost completely tinted to prevent people from peeking inside just yet. Ineos has taken an unconventional route to unveiling the Grenadier, revealing the exterior design in its entirety years before its debut instead of relying on concept drawings and camouflage.
The USA will only get one powertrain: the BMW 3.0-liter straight six gasoline motor. While the rest of the world will also get the diesel variant of that motor, we’ll miss out on diesel yet again. BMW has already withdrawn diesel from the American market, so it makes little sense to certify it only for the Grenadier. The fate of the rumored pickup variant will also depend on how Ineos navigates the American Chicken Tax regulations.
There’s still a lot to do with setting up Grenadier USA, and item number one will be finding an American headquarters. (Certainly, there’s lots of cheap office space to pick from.) They also need to create a nationwide dealer network, and identify key markets to focus more on. (There’s about as many Land Rover dealers in the New York City metropolitan area as there are in all of the off-road mecca Rocky Mountain states. Will Ineos need an opposite tactic? Or will they be popular in the same places, often for the same reasons as Land Rovers?)
Ineos has said that the Grenadier will start at £40,000, about $56,700 American dollars. Yet to be seen is if the American version will cost that much – as with Land Rovers, it’s possible that the cheap model is a base specification that “won’t appeal to the American market.” Industry publication Automotive News predicts a starting price closer to $75,000. Either way, it’ll likely be priced above the starting price of the Defender, Jeep Wrangler, and Ford Bronco, the primary competition. A $75,000 base-priced vehicle would have a starting price higher than a generously-equipped Defender 110.
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