London: A British chemicals company best known for fracking operations in the UK has launched a daring bid to recreate an electric version of the four-wheel drive, stimulating car manufacturing in the north of England with a view to exporting the off-roader to Australia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Launching the project at The Grenadier pub in Belgravia, the chairman of INEOS, Jim Ratcliffe, who dreamt up the idea at The Grenadier after a "second pint" with friends two years ago, said the company envisioned an "unbreakable... no-frills farmer's vehicle" that would "look cool" and retain a rugged appearance rather than that of a "homogenised SUV" or "soft roader."
He said his company would be focussed on making a version that would not break down, like the Land Rover Defender.
"In places like Australia where breaking down is a serious affair you drive a Toyota, you don't drive a Land Rover, we really do want to crack the reliability problem. And we are trying to produce the indestructibility of the Toyota Landcruiser," he said.
Mr Ratcliffe, who owns three Defenders, was mourning the demise of Jaguar's vehicle-of-choice for adventurers, the last of which rolled off the production line last year.
But he denied his venture, dubbed Projekt Grenadier, was a billionaire's "nostalgic dalliance," saying INEOS would spend $1 billion (??600 million) by the end of the year hiring German engineers.
He said the vehicle, to be named in an online competition, would be British designed and German engineered but the company was still deciding where to build it.
He warned the UK government it would need to help build ??300-400 million worth of production facilities. He said while INEOS was "emotionally attached" to the UK, economic rationality would win the day.
"It would be quite a challenge to do it [in the UK] without anything," he said, adding that, unlike the UK, Germany has existing manufacturing plants and skilled workers, as well as cheaper energy.
He said manufacturing cars would create 1000 factory jobs and with between 5000 to 10,000 supporting jobs. Any British production plant would be located on the country's eastern seaboard, likely in the north, which the Tory government has targeted as an area in need of economic stimulation.
But INEOS automotive chairman Chris Tane denied the company would be seeking handouts, such as those in Australia that eventually provoked the then-Abbott government to rescind subsidies, triggering the death of the Australian car manufacturing industry.
"Those permanent loss-making car manufacturers - that's not where we are coming from, we're talking one-off capital not ongoing subsidies because we're going to make a success of this and be profitable."
Mr Tane said the car, due for production in 2020 would first launch in the Unites States and the UK but Australia would be a target market. The company wants to be producing 25,000 cars per year by 2023 and will produce an urban hybrid vehicle, a petrol and a diesel-run model.
"Australia's a big market we want to sell a good number of vehicles in. The Land Rover was quite popular before the move to Landcruisers," he said.
Like Australia, Britain's exports are trending towards services rather than manufacturing goods, a trend Mr Ratcliffe criticised.
He said there was no reason why advanced economies couldn't also be high-quality manufacturers like Germany and he did not rule out further car-making ventures should the off-roader prove a success.
"Maybe it's a little bit arrogant for a chemical company to think it can produce a world-class 4x4 but we have the confidence that we can manufacture things," Mr Ratcliffe said.
