Ineos Automotive, the company behind the old school Grenadier off-roader, will launch an electric SUV, to be built by Magna at the latter’s Graz, Austria, factory starting in 2026.
This new EV “will deliver world-class off-road capability,” and will be tested on Austria’s Shöckl mountain near Magna’s factory, Ineos said in a press release, but the company is keeping other details under wraps for now.
Magna Steyr’s plant in Graz, Austria
Magna previously worked on development of the Grenadier, Ineos noted. This larger SUV, which is currently offered only with internal-combustion engines, started production late last year. A pickup truck is currently in development and is expected to enter production next year.
The Grenadier is being built at the plant in France that used to build Smart EQ Fortwo electric cars. Ineos launched the Grenadier with BMW-sourced gasoline and diesel engines, but confirmed a fuel-cell version in 2021, and announced a zero-emission model line in 2022.
2022 Ineos Grenadier
Magna already has experience building electric SUVs as a contract manufacturer. It started production of the Fisker Ocean late last year, and built the Jaguar I-Pace all along. It’s also suggested it would be able to revamp the I-Pace to go 300 miles on a charge.
The company is also a supplier of components to automakers, with several recent products aimed at improving efficiency or expanding electrification. It claims it can boost EV range by 30%, with an emphasis on software and controls. It has also pushed an eBeam unit that it says might allow heavy-duty pickups and traditional SUVs to go all-electric without detracting from payload or towing.
