Ineos revealed its electric entry into the 4×4 market earlier this year but now has delayed the launch of its Fusilier 4×4 indefinitely. That’s because of slowing demand for EVs and uncertainty around governmental EV policies.
The second model from the the company was due to enter production in 2027 but now Ineos is waiting for the EV market and legislative framework around it to solidify.
The plan was to offer Fusilier with a pure-electric drivetrain along with a petrol range-extender to help with off-road range. Ineos’ boss, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has said previously that there are “clear limitations of battery-electric in certain situations”. The range extender the firm sees as a “low-emission solution for longer journeys or where charging is not possible”.
When Ineos first showed the Fusilier to the world earlier this year Ratcliffe said: “We have to have [an EV] whether we like it or not, but we like it, as it’s important to the world.”
He recently told Autocar UK: “Our instinct was to follow the industry with an EV, but a few months ago we paused.”
Now the company has delayed the launch of the car entirely.
Ineos Automotive said: “We are delaying the launch of the Ineos Fusilier for two reasons; reluctant consumer uptake of EVs and industry uncertainty around tariffs, timings and taxation.
“Charging infrastructure for EVs in most markets continues to grow and consumer confidence will match that. But for the industry to meet net-zero targets there needs to be long-term clarity from policy makers…”
The firm said it is “committed to bringing an EV to market, not just because of legislation but because we want to. It is the right thing to do but as a small-volume manufacturer it is only able to produce vehicles that will sell”.
The most recent sales figures show that demand for electric vehicles in the UK rose 6.2 per cent year-on-year in May. That gave electrics a 17.6 per cent market share. But it still falls short of the 22 per cent EV sales mix imposed by the UK government’s zero-emission vehicle mandate this year.
Ineos was critical of the ban on combustion car sales that will be imposed in the EU and the UK in 2035. Labour, if it wins the general election, has pledged to bring that date forward to 2030 in the UK.
The 4×4 firm said a full EV sales mandate would not allow it to offer the Fusilier with the range-extender drivetrain. As it stands at present, Ineos has not given any indication as to when production of the Fusilier EV would become viable.
Hydrogen and synthetic fuels the firm sees as a “really long way” from being viable for mass production, given the high costs of refining them today.
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