ICE here to stay for INEOS

INEOS is yet to pull the trigger on additional powertrain options for its foundation Grenadier 4x4 station wagon and its soon-to-be-released Grenadier Quartermaster dual-cab 4x4 pick-up offshoot, but INEOS Automotive boss Lynn Calder says traditional petrol and diesel power will remain on the menu for the foreseeable future.

Discussion regarding alternative powertrains for the heavy-duty off-roader has centred around suggestions of a hydrogen fuel-cell, but more prosaic choices are the focus for now as new European emissions standards beckon, suggests Calder.

“Our current [BMW-sourced] six-cylinder engine won’t be rated for European emission standards by 2027, which means that we're already really deep into a project to integrate a new engine, which will be a mild-hybrid – but still it’s really [a swap for] the next-generation [six-cylinder] BMW engine,” she told carsales in a face-to-face interview in Melbourne before the Grenadier’s local launch last week.

“This has highlighted one major challenge for any company trying to enter the automotive business right now… We will have had our car on the road for really not much more than three years before we’ve got to have a completely new engine… [It] is taking a huge amount of brain power, resource bandwidth and cash.”

Calder would not be drawn on suggestions that four-cylinder hybrid and plug-in hybrid power was destined for the Grenadier, but did admit the rolling back of EV-only new-vehicle mandates in Europe (the UK has pushed its target back five years to 2035) is delivering some breathing room.

“It hasn’t changed that development project of the new EU7-compliant engine. [But] I think what it’s probably confirmed is what we suspected all along, which is [the EV-only target] it’s just not possible,” Calder opined.

“Our view is very much that combustion engines are going to be required for a long time, even in some of the markets where that’s a pretty unpopular thing to say.

“I can see that there’s going to be combustion engines required in Australia, Africa and the USA for a long time to come. But even in Europe and UK, you’ve got that sort of timeline rolling back… with the recognition that actually it’s not flick a switch and that people will still need to get from A to B in a way that is achievable – from an infrastructure perspective but also affordability.

“Battery-electric is only going to make it unaffordable for a lot of people, as well as the infrastructure not really keeping pace. I think [the target date change] is a good recognition that it’s going to take a bit longer and we can make a lot of progress on emissions on the way with hybrids.

“It’s a reality check that we're going to need a mix of powertrains,” Calder stated.

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