'Critical' parts shortage sorted: Land Cruiser 70-series and Land Rover Defender alternative back to full production soon but will Australian deliveries of 2025 Ineos Grenadier and Quartermaster ute be affected?

Ineos has announced production of its two-strong model range will re-commence in January 2025 after a brief pause at its production facility in Hambach, France, due to a “critical supply shortage.”

The shortage ground production at the ex-Smart factory to a halt in September, right on the cusp of Ineos launching in multiple large markets, including bringing its Quartermaster ute variant to Australia.

It was not stated what the ‘critical part shortage’ pertained to in the 4x4s, but the brand’s CEO Lynn Calder said “it’s great news that a solution has been found so quickly.”

“Automotive supply chains are extremely complex but we were not willing to compromise on quality, so we are satisfied that we have found the best possible outcome.” 

Locally, CarsGuide has reached out to the brand for comment on the factory pause, but in conversations at the launch of the Quartermaster ute variant, its representatives noted supply was relatively stable for Australia, and that plenty of stock had been ordered for each variant’s launch. As the brand is big on customisation, it was explained that a new order had about a six month lead time to delivery.

Ineos is in the midst of launching in China — what could be its largest market, as well as Mexico. Interestingly vehicles sent to Australia also have a slightly different specification from ones sold in Europe, as they are still missing auto emergency braking (AEB) and other active safety technology.

The specialist is able to continue selling Grenadiers into our market as the model passed ADRs prior to the requirement of AEB on all new vehicles sold in Australia, and is currently existing in a 12 month grace period to rectify this issue.

2025 Ineos Grenadier

Expect a mild update to the Grenadier range in Australia some time next year before the clock runs out.

Speaking to CarsGuide at the launch of the Grenadier Quartermaster, Ineos Automotive’s Asia Pacific boss Justin Hocevar explained that the company was on track for a big 12 months in 2024, moving over 1500 units at the half-way point of the year, putting the brand in line with the likes of Jeep, Peugeot and Cupra.

He noted that, if the Grenadier sustained closer to 2500 units a year, it would put pressure on the factory in the short term. However, Hocevar also said the Hambach plant was by no means a small facility and was capable of “scaling up” to support the brand’s more global ambitions.

2025 Ineos Grenadier

Elsewhere, the Grenadier will also dodge Australia’s incoming new vehicle efficiency (NVES) laws thanks to its already-Euro-6-compliant BMW straight-six engines, but will need to make changes to its line-up further down the track.

In the short term, this could mean an easy-ish move to mild hybrid, thanks to BMW moving in that direction, but the brand is also keen to get its hands on the smaller Fusilier, which Hocevar said was very much still in the plans.

The Fusilier project, a model to sit underneath the Grenadier on a new platform ready to support either battery electric or range-extender hybrid variants, was put on hold shortly after its announcement as Europe’s march toward a battery electric future started to stall in terms of sales numbers. Originally, it was intended to debut in 2026.

Hocevar said the model was definitely “still alive and well within the organisation” and that the brand had made the decision to “pause at a time where there’s a lot of change going on.”