Ineos Fusilier electric 4x4 pushed back to 2028

It’s looking like the new Ineos Fusilier will be launching sometime in 2028, based on comments the British brand’s CEO made to Auto Express. The electrified 4x4 was originally meant to arrive in 2027, before development was halted in response to poor uptake of electric cars and industry uncertainty around government policies.

The baby brother of the Ineos Grenadier was unveiled earlier this year, and we’re told the company was well down the road on development of both the pure-electric version and range-extender plug-in hybrid models. The latter features a small petrol engine generator that would make it better suited to more remote environments without charging facilities.

Speaking exclusively to Auto Express, Ineos Automotive CEO Lynn Calder explained why the Fusilier was delayed: “It was two reasons, and the first was just policy. I think this year in particular, with so many elections going on in so many different countries, it's really quite difficult to work out what's going to happen. 

“And for a really small brand that's a little bit terrifying because we can’t spend many, many, many millions and have a car that nobody buys. We can't do that, we can't afford to do it, we're not established enough. So we want it all to settle down and understanding what the policy is going to be will provide clarity. 

“The other reason was, partly because of policy clarity and partly the lack of infrastructure, consumer confidence in EVs has taken a nosedive in a lot of our main markets and a lot of people need to be persuaded that it's the right car for them.

“So I don't need to rush at it, right? We've developed the car, we love the design and we're really confident in our two powertrain options.”

When asked about when the Fusilier might now arrive, Calder replied “We had indicated May 2027 but that’s unlikely, so probably 2028. I don't think we’re going to be paused for very long, but I think that getting it out in 2027 will be quite difficult.

“We just need a little bit of confidence this year which I think we'll get from getting out of the back end of elections. We're going to need to see plans from governments though. You can't just set a target and then say ‘right, go do it’ when no one's actually doing it. There's also not enough infrastructure for electric use, 100% use for new cars in 2035.”

The 4x4 maker previously cited the UK Government’s plan to ban sales of all new petrol and diesel cars in 2035 as one of the factors involved in the Fusilier’s delay, and pointed to the Labour party’s promise that it would bring forward that date to 2030 before it was elected into power.

Range-extender to come first

We asked Calder if the lack of charging infrastructure for electric cars would make Ineos prioritise the plug-in hybrid version: “To be honest that was already pretty much the plan. The May 2027 date was for the range extender. We'll definitely launch that first and we think that will be the more popular vehicle.

“But that's part of the clarity point because that is currently a car that would be banned because it's got a really small combustion engine in it that charges the battery to get rid of the range anxiety that people have.

“By our calculations, it takes away 70 to 80 per cent of the CO2 emissions, so it's a very low emission car – it's not a zero-emission car, but very low emission car – and a great transition technology we think, but it would still be banned so that's kind of part of the clarity that we're looking for.”

Grenadier growth plans

What does the pause in the Fusilier’s development give Ineos more time for? Calder said, “One is to focus on what we're trying to do, which is make and sell really high-quality Grenadiers in what will be 50 countries at the end of this year. We've got a lot to do with that, and I think we really underestimated how hard that is, and sometimes when you try to run before, you can walk to spread yourself too thinly.”

However Calder added, “We're really, really pleased with how it's all going. We hit profitability in November last year which was after like less than a year's worth of sales actually and we're so pleased with that.”

In terms of a goal for the UK market specifically, Calder said “Our biggest criticism in the UK all along has been no VAT-free version [of Grenadier] and we've now got a commercially-derived van project approved by the HMRC to offer a VAT-free option. 

“But they need to be slightly modified and we've got to get that really up and running now. We haven't sold a single commercial-derived van because we haven't got them out there yet, so my biggest thing at the moment is just come on what's holding us up, what's holding us back because we know that so many customers really want that.”

Can't wait for the Fusilier? Take a look at the best electric SUVs available now...