It’s official, Ineos buys Daimler factory to build Defender rival

The Grenadier is a SUV similar to the now-discontinued Land Rover Defender 110. Photos: Ineos

Ineos Automotive has acquired the manufacturing facility at Hambach, France from Mercedes-Benz and will start to build its Land Rover Defender-rival Grenadier SUV there in late 2021. 

Ineos announced at the start of November that it was to close to official purchasing of Daimler’s Smart plant in France, to build the the Grenadier, a large SUV that is similar to the now-discontinued Land Rover Defender 110.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Mercedes-Benz will contract Ineos to continue to produce the smart EQ fortwo and some Mercedes-Benz components at Hambach. 

When combined with Ineos’s plans for the Grenadier, it means 1300 jobs at Hambach, including commitments to onsite suppliers.

Dirk Heilmann, Chief Executive Officer of Ineos Automotive, said the acquisition “marks our biggest milestone yet in the development of the Grenadier”.  

The Hambach, France plant recently underwent a major refit.

“Alongside the exhaustive testing programme that our prototype vehicles are now undergoing, we can now begin preparations at Hambach to build our 4x4 from late next year for delivery to our customers around the globe,” he said.

The British petrochemical giant Ineos sees the acquisition as a way to secure the future of the site and safeguards many jobs that might otherwise have been lost.

Hambach is also the ideal facility for production of the Grenadier. One of Europe’s most modern automotive manufacturing sites, it has recently benefited from a major investment to enable the production of larger vehicles.

Additionally the site’s location on the French-German border, only 200km from Stuttgart, gives excellent access to supply chains, automotive talent and target markets. 

Manufacturing at Hambach ensures that Ineos remains on track to meet its plans to deliver the Grenadier to customers in early 2022.