A company founded by Brexit-backing billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has announced the production of its new electric Grenadier off-road vehicle is set to be moved… to Austria.
Ineos will develop the version of the 4×4 in Europe with car parts manufactured in Canada from 2026.
The decision means that the UK has missed out on building a second Ineos vehicle, after Ratcliffe, a vocal Brexit backer who is resident in Monaco for tax purposes, chose a French factory for the original Grenadier.
He had previously said a factory in Bridgend would be “a significant expression of confidence in British manufacturing” and would create 500 jobs, producing about 25,000 Grenadiers a year, once fully up and running.
Those plans were put on hold while Ratcliffe’s Ineos Automotive negotiated buying a site in East France, and it has since been confirmed that that will indeed be where they are produced.
Chris Elmore, Labour MP for the Ogmore constituency in Bridgend, tweeted at the time that the decision was a “crushing blow” for the area.
“The highly-skilled and dedicated workforce in Ogmore, Bridgend and surrounding areas would have risen to the challenge,” he wrote.
“That Brexit is clearly a major factor at play is a bitter pill to swallow. Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was a vocal Brexiteer, loudly proclaiming the benefits of leaving the EU. Today, we can see his claims are as hollow as his promises.”
Ratcliffe named the Grenadier after the historic London pub where he first came up with the idea. He later bought the pub, located down a mews street in Belgravia, one of London’s most expensive areas.
However, despite the British associations of the name, the vehicles have been built elsewhere.
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