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The company sued by Land Rover for building a Defender look-alike is reportedly in talks with Land Rover's Chinese partner to create its next 4WD.
Ineos – the British off-road start-up selling the Grenadier, a Land Rover Defender copycat – may licence technology from a Chinese car giant to get its on-hold hybrid 4WD into production.
UK publication Autocar reports Ineos is in talks with Chery to use the range-extender hybrid platform beneath the Chinese maker's iCaur off-roaders to develop its smaller Fusilier 4WD.
The partnership may go as far as using significant portions of the donor Chery iCaur vehicle – rather than just its technology – shipped in kits from China to the Ineos factory in France.
The Ineos Fusilier was revealed in early 2024, but was placed on indefinite hold months later due to "reluctant consumer uptake" of electric vehicles, and "uncertainty around tariffs, timings and taxation".
In the months since, Donald Trump's tariffs have forced Ineos – which builds its British-styled vehicles in France – to increase prices of its current Grenadier 4WD in the US by 5 to 10 per cent.
It now appears the Fusilier project will be rebooted as a range-extender vehicle, where the wheels are driven by electric motors, but a petrol engine is fitted as a backup generator to charge the battery when it runs low.
Autocar reports the Fusilier would use the DNA of the iCaur V27, an upcoming off-roader from Chery planned to use a 1.5-litre turbo engine and choice of 22kWh or 33kWh battery packs, for outputs of up to 335kW.
The V27 is larger than the original iteration of the Fusilier shown last year, but smaller than the Grenadier.
The iCaur brand – known as iCar in its home of China – is due in Australia next year with the even-smaller electric V23, but a broader range of models are planned for Europe in time.
Chery's global CEO confirmed last year that "two premium marques" hailing from Europe were interested in using the company's underpinnings, and that talks were underway with two others.
One was Jaguar Land Rover, a joint-venture partner of Chery in China, which will partner on a new range of Freelander four-wheel-drives built on a Chery platform.
Autocar reports Ineos could use its factory in France to assemble partly-completed kits from Chery iCaur to avoid facing European Union tariffs on imported Chinese electric and range-extender cars.
The Fusilier will prove important for Ineos in meeting CO2 emissions rules in Europe and other markets such as Australia.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
