Ineos Automotive has restarted production at its Hambach plant after a brief pause caused by a "critical shortage" of seats.
Production of the Grenadier, including the Ineos Grenadier Commercial, and Quartermaster pick-up truck was restarted with the first new vehicle coming off the production line today.
The production line had previously been stopped since September. The company had previously announced in November that it planned to restart in the new year and the restart occured on-time after the component shortages were resolved.
The first new vehicle of the year to be completed was a a Scottish White Utility Wagon five seater that is destined for southern France. It was followed off the production line by a pair in new Devil Red coloured models.
Devill Red is the latest introduction to the Grenadier range, adding an eleventh colour for the Grenadier Station Wagon and Quartermaster.
Also joining Devil Red off the line for the new year will be customer orders of Grenadier 1924 with a package of lifestyle accessories for the Belstaff centenery celebration special edition, which is limited to 1,924 units.
“This is a great start to the year for us, one I strongly believe will be our best yet and will build on the more than 40% growth year over year we achieved in 2024”, commented Lynn Calder, CEO INEOS Automotive.
“We are so proud to have more than 20,000 Grenadiers on the roads and trails around the world. Significant new markets like Mexico and China created incremental demand just when we had to hit pause on the production line, so it is heartening to already hear the familiar ‘toot’ as vehicles roll through the quality check lines again. We’ve got some catching up to do, but we’re up for the challenge.”
Ineos says that the previous production facilities for the smart ForTwo, which stopped earlier in 2024, have how been dismantled to open up further space for future Ineos products.