Ineos Automotive will continue to offer both petrol and diesel versions of the Grenadier in Australia –despite a significant sales skew towards the latter.
Ever since the Grenadier wagon’s local launch in 2022, customers have had the choice of two BMW-sourced 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engines – a twin-turbo diesel producing 183kW of power and 550Nm of torque, or a turbo-petrol good for 210kW and 450Nm.
However, the diesel has proven to be far more popular, accounting for 80 per cent of Station Wagon sales and a whopping 90 per cent of dual-cab Quartermaster ute sales.
So, are petrol models set for the axe? No chance, according to Ineos Automotive’s local boss Justin Hocevar.
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“I think any model splits, powertrain splits or anything like that always has to be put in the context of us being a relatively low-volume brand,” Mr Hocevar told CarExpert at the launch of the MY26 Grenadier range.
“We’re not a large commodity brand that responds to low uptake of a particular spec or option by jettisoning it and focusing on a cookie-cutter approach to what is produced for this market.
“I think the petrol is still very safe down here – there’s customers that want it.
“It’s got certain use cases that work well, as does the diesel.”
For context, Ineos Automotive doesn’t report its sales statistics to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), but says the Grenadier has now found more than 3000 new homes in Australia, at an average of roughly 1000 per year.
Created after Land Rover wouldn’t sell the tooling and manufacturing hardware for the original Land Rover Defender to British billionaire and chemical engineer, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Magna Steyr-assembled Grenadier is a “back to basics”, ladder-frame off-roader that competes primarily with the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series, as well as the modern Defender, and the Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator in Australia.
In terms of market share, the diesel-only 70 Series dominates this space, racking up 10,301 deliveries last year alone. Land Rover sold 3854 Defenders over the same period.
However, Ineos has surpassed Jeep, with its petrol-powered Wrangler and Gladiator combining for just 765 sales in 2025.
While the Grenadier remains Ineos’ key focus for the foreseeable future, the brand is also working on a smaller, electrified SUV dubbed the Fusilier.
According to Autocar, Ineos has opened discussions with Chery about using the Chery’s iCar battery-electric (EV) and extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) platform architecture for the Fusilier project, which first came to light back in 2024.
