Smaller electric Ineos off-roader confirmed

Ineos Group CEO and founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe have confirmed the British off-road car maker will add a new model to its portfolio – and it will be battery powered.

The fully-electric Ineos will be built on an all-new platform which promises to be smaller than the current Grenadier, but the company says the vehicle will remain true to its workhorse roots and off-road image.

"What we're also looking at quite carefully at the moment is a smaller version of the Grenadier… electric," Ratcliffe said in an interview.

"We need to embrace the future, which clearly, in an urban environment, is going to be electric – but even in a country environment, if you're a farmer, you probably will have an electric vehicle you can drive around on tracks and things like that,” he said.

"So you want one that's capable, but it's electric. I think that's our vision at the moment."

It’s unclear whether the electric vehicle will wear the Grenadier badge or not, but it’s expected the model will go head to head with the likes of the Land Rover Defender 90 and two-door Ford Bronco.

Ratcliffe said Ineos was continuing to pursue hydrogen power for the current Grenadier, which the company is developing in partnership with Hyundai.

While the hydrogen Grenadier will begin testing in late 2022, there’s no word yet on when the electric Ineos will launch.