Waiting for the electric Ineos Fusilier “Baby Land Rover Defender” to arrive? You’re in for a long wait.

The Ineos Fusilier EV SUV, Ineos’s take on a “Baby Land Rover Defender”, won’t be happening any time soon due to weak EV demand.

Jim Ratcliffe’s quest to deliver a ‘real’ Land Rover Defender replacement with the Ineos Grenadier has already spawned not just the regular Grenadier 4×4 but the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster and even a Grenadier to game the BIK system with the Grenadier Commercial.

That’s quite an achievement in a very short time – although deep pockets have helped – but Ineos’s ambitions for its automotive division grew further earlier this year when Jim Ratcliffe revealed the Ineos Fusilier.

Sitting below the Grenadier as an Ineos take on what a ‘real’ baby Land Rover should be, and in a nod to the EV drive the Fusilier is powered by batteries rather than a 3.0-litre BMW ICE like the Grenadier.

Very sensibly, as the Fusilier is aimed at many buyers who traverse remote areas, it doesn’t just offer a BEV powertrain but a Range Extender powertrain too.

Despite the reveal, and detail on powertrains, the Ineos Fusilier wasn’t expected to go in to production until 2027, although with an ambitious sales target of £40-50,000 a year. But it’s not happening, at least for some considerable time.

In an email this week, Ineos said “reluctant consumer uptake of EVs and industry uncertainty around tariffs, timings and taxation” means the development of the Fusilier has been halted.

Clearly, even with deep pockets, small car makers like Ineos can’t afford to build EVs nobody wants.