Quartermaster to lead Ineos sales surge

NEWCOMER 4x4 brand Ineos is knuckling down for the hard sales slog as it looks to broaden its buyer base and capitalise on interest in adventure vehicles.

The fledgling brand that was born from a desire to see the simplicity of the original Land Rover Defender continue well into the 21st century believes it will boost sales by upwards of 60 per cent over the next year.

It comes following the arrival of the Grenadier Quartermaster dual-cab ute that is expected to outsell the regular Grenadier wagon, in turn setting the British brand on a solid growth spurt.

Speaking at the launch of the Quartermaster the head of the Asia Pacific region for Ineos, Justin Hocevar, said there was keen interest in the ute body style for the Grenadier.

“Adding the dual-cab ute to our portfolio is our next opportunity to go for more (sales),” said Hocevar, pointing out that the Quartermaster is one of the few dual-cabs occupying the space between mainstream players such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux (up to about $90K) and larger American pick-ups (many of which are priced above $120K).

The Grenadier Quartermaster is priced from $102,000 plus on-road costs for the cab-chassis or $105,000 plus on-roads for versions fitted with a ute tub.

More expensive Trialmaster (with extra off-road gear) and Fieldmaster (with more luxury gear) models sell from $115,000 as a cab-chassis or $118,000 as a ute, each excluding on-road costs.

Ineos says higher equipment levels – including the availability of things such as leather and safari windows above the front occupants – help it stack up against the Toyota LandCruiser 70-Series, which dominates the segment.

“It’s just the segment size that makes me think we’ve got a good opportunity (with Quartermaster),” said Hocevar.

He says the big competitor is the Toyota LandCruiser 79-Series, the dual-cab version of the utilitarian old school off-roader that has a loyal following with fleets and rural buyers.

He says off-road enthusiasts have naturally gravitated to the Grenadier early on.

Like the LandCruiser 70-Series the Grenadier and Quartermaster have a ladder frame architecture and live axles front and rear as well as very little in the way of luxury appointments.

As the SUV and ute markets have gentrified and focused more on on-road comfort, Ineos has appealed to the enthusiasts who want extreme capability and the basics done well.

But Hocevar knows the honeymoon is over for the British brand, saying there was plenty of hard work in educating buyers about Ineos.

“We cracked high awareness with the 4x4 enthusiast early on,” said Hocevar. “Those 4x4 enthusiasts absolutely sought us out.”

He says it’s now tougher getting mainstream buyers to look away from the brands they’ve trusted for years. The most obvious of those is Toyota.

“The next group of people (potential buyers) are not as dialled in on some of that to have that immediate awareness.

“We’ve had to lift our game in terms of our marketing communications to actually let people know who the hell we are, what we do, what are the principles of our brand, our product, etc.”

He says the early enquiry levels are paying off with an increase in enquiry.

And he believes the Quartermaster is the biggest sales opportunity.

With high levels of accessorisation and personalisation in the dual-cab market Hocevar believes the cab-chassis variant will account for most sales.

“When it comes to the real opportunity in that little segment … it’s mostly cab-chassis buyers,” he said, adding that the company is anticipating 60 per cent of Quartermasters will have the customisable tail.

One thing Ineos says won’t impact it is the unplanned manufacturing shutdown that has left the French facility dormant for weeks.

While it’s impacting supply in some markets – including planned launch timings in some new countries – Hocevar says there will be minimal interruptions to Australian supply.

“We’re not really affected because we had already backed ourselves in for 2024,” he said.

“We knew what was happening, we ordered up on our Quartermasters, we ordered up on our wagons and we know we’re good to carry ourselves through.”

Referring to the lack of production as a “manufacturing hiatus” he says production should recommence early in 2025.

“We’re waiting for that to be resolved,” he said.

“We’re pretty confident it’ll be resolved to get us back going by early in the new year.”

2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster pricing*

*excluding on road costs: