Everyone’s favorite non-Land Rover is having some production snags. Ineos blocked the assembly line of Grenadier at the Hambach plant in France. Production of Grenadier Quartermaster pickups is also at a standstill and the situation could remain that way until 2025.
Apparently, the problem is not with Ineos, nor is it a mechanical glitch. The reason for the interruption is believed to be a supplier that produces a key part of the car and does not deliver these components. Ineos does not mention the name of the supplier and the nature of the piece is unknown, but it could be Recaro.
The cause of the problem
An Ineos representative told Automotive News Europe that the problematic supplier is “in a pre-insolvency situation”. Recaro Automotive filed for bankruptcy in late July, citing “significant financial difficulties due to extreme price increases in recent crisis years and the loss of a major contract.”
The company planned to continue the production of seats and to fulfill existing orders during insolvency. But something may have changed.
The official statement
An Ineos spokesperson provided a Motor1.com US the following production statement:
Our production in Hambach experienced a shortage of critical components beyond our control, causing a pause in our production schedule.
Automotive supply chains are always complex and challenging, but this situation comes at such a busy time for us. We are receiving great feedback from Grenadier customers around the world and are already present in over 45 countries.
This month we will launch the product in important new markets: Mexico and China. By this summer we sold as many Grenadiers as we sold for all of 2023.
We have strong momentum and are on track to reach over 20,000 cars by the end of the year and we really want to produce vehicles for our customers, so this pause is extremely frustrating.
We are leaving no stone unturned to get our production back up and running and recover demand as quickly as possible. We are currently adopting a conservative scenario that would see us return to full production in early 2025.
In the meantime, we would like to thank our customers – especially those waiting for their Grenadiers – for their patience as we work hard to resume business.
Source: it.motor1.com
