It’s been only a few months since we first saw the Ineos Fusilier, the off-road upstart’s second model and little sibling to the flawed but likeable Grenadier. It was set to arrive in 2027 as either a full EV or a range-extender hybrid, and it looked like it’d be roughly family crossover-sized, but with the rough ‘n’ ready off-road styling and ability of the Grenadier.
We say ‘was’ because the Fusilier’s future has just become a bit uncertain. The car’s been hit with an indefinite delay by its manufacturer, and the reasons are ones that are becoming rather familiar: weakening electric car demand, and uncertain government policies around EVs.
Ineos Fusilier – rear
The company confirmed the news in a statement to Autocar: “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.”
No new date has been given for a launch, and it looks like Ineos will retain a single-model lineup for the foreseeable future. The Grenadier is powered by a choice of either a petrol or diesel straight-six, both sourced from BMW, with no plans for an electric or other alternative fuel version on the horizon.
Ineos Fusilier – detail
Ineos has been reluctant in the past to commit to a full EV future, and while the Fusilier was set to be a tentative step into electric propulsion, the introduction of a range-extender version with an unspecified “small petrol engine” was planned to assuage some of this hesitance.
The Fusilier was planned to be produced in the Magna-Steyr plant in Austria, and its delay is another potential blow to that facility, which was also assembling the Fisker Ocean prior to Fisker’s bankruptcy filing. The halt of Ocean production there forced the Austrian company to lay off 500 workers.
As for the Fusilier, it looks like we’ll have a chunk longer to wait than the initial three-year timeframe before we eventually see it in full production form.
