Is this a new ‘Baby’ Land Rover Defender? No, it’s the new Ineos Fusilier SUV

Ineos boss Jim Ratcliffe reveals the first look at a new, smaller SUV, the Ineos Fusilier – with a choice of BEV and Range Extender powertrains.

Jim Ratcliffe, boss of chemical group Ineos, has had a busy week, firstly concluding a stake in Manchester United and now revealing a new Ineos SUV.

The new SUV is the Ineos Fusilier – keeping Ineos branding military (or pub, take your pick) – and it’s still a couple of years away, but it will come with both electric and range extender powertrains and be a bit more compact than the Grenadier.

Sensibly, although Ineos knows they have to have a BEV, they’re also delivering the Fusilier with a range-extender powertrain using a small petrol engine to power a generator to maintain battery charge levels when there’s no charging available. Eminently sensible.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS, says:

As we developed this vehicle, we quickly concluded that in order to move towards decarbonisation but continue making cars that consumers want to drive, we need a mix of powertrain technologies. BEVs are perfect for certain uses: shorter trips and urban deliveries, but industry and governments need to have realistic expectations around other technologies that can help accelerate the necessary pace of change. That is the reason we are offering an additional powertrain for the Fusilier, one that dramatically reduces emissions but has the range and refuelling capabilities needed.

The Fusilier is being developed in conjunction with Magna Steyr – who build the G-Class for Mercedes – with the aim of building 40-50,000 a year with prices starting at around £90k

Which all sounds interesting, but don’t get too excited because it’ll be 2027 before production starts