A supplier issue has reportedly forced Ineos to stop production of its flagship SUV.
Examples have only been making their way out to owners en masse for the past few months, but Ineos Automotive is having to hit the brakes on building its SUV for a matter outside of its own control. According to a report by Automotive News, financial problems with one of its suppliers is to blame for the stoppage, and the general consensus is that this situation is tied to the woeful state of affairs at Recaro, the iconic seat manufacturer that filed for bankruptcy protection in late July.
Ineos, for its part, specifically told AutoNews that “the supplier is in a pre-insolvency situation”, without specifically naming Recaro. CEO Lynn Carter also said, “It’s a trim part but one that we can’t sell the car without. I know that the [supplier] is working really hard to try and turn around their business and I want to give them every opportunity to do that.” For those looking to put two and two together, yes — Recaro has been the seat supplier for the Grenadier and Quartermaster pickup.
The company is “leaving no stone unturned” when it comes to finding a new supplier and rebooting Grenadier production. At this moment, though, it’s unclear exactly how long the part shortage will keep production offline. Without a second-source actively in the picture, Ineos could be stuck in neutral for several months.
“At the moment, we are operating a conservative scenario which would see us get back into full production rates in early 2025,” Carter said.
Ineos Automotive was founded by Sir Jim Radcliffe in 2016, and the fledgling automaker kicked off full-scale Grenadier production in October 2022. TFL Studios owned one and ran it through its paces for several months, which you can check out on our channels (including the video below):
