In a world quickly being overtaken by EVs and shareholder-driven beige appliances trying to pass as 4X4s, one manufacturer not only reckons they can make their own mark, but they can do it while giving 4X4ers exactly what they need. Hot off getting up close and personal with the newest 4X4 on the market, we recently had the opportunity to sit down with Justin Hocevar, the man behind the INEOS Grenadier rollout across Australia. Arguably one of the most important men for the future of tough ute’s in the Aussie outback. Here’s what he had to say.
Unsealed4X4:
Justin, mate, thanks for taking the time to meet with us. It looks like there are exciting things happening at Ineos, and the first Grenadiers are finally rolling off the production line, Aussies want to know, when will we start seeing them out on the tracks locally?
Justin Hocevar:
Thanks Dan. There’s a lot going on at the moment, as they say Rome wasn’t built overnight but all our key indicators are strong. Our reservation numbers are very strong, the conversion of those to orders are strong. The Australian market is ranked #3 for Grenadier orders in the world, only just behind Germany in #2. We’re starting to roll into full production series cars now.
We’re expecting full-fledged demo vehicles in December, with first customer orders coming shortly after. There’s no delay in orders based on the market. Australia V U.K. V Germany. Petrol V Diesel. Left or Right hand drive. We’re well in the mix as a key launch market. We’ve got a few key vehicles we need to fill first. Display vehicles, press cars, and our own fleet. There’s still a few shipping issues too. Out of Europe there’s about 3 Roll-on, Roll-off ships a week down from 6 or 7. It’s just like the airlines at the moment, every plane is chockers and so is every ship. There’s also quarantine issues, shipments are even being held to fumigate for stink bugs.
U4X4:
Australian 4X4 owners are a very unique market, unlike any other out there. Reliability is one of the most important factors considered when looking at any vehicle. What sort of R&D has gone into ensuring Grenadiers last the distance?
Justin:
We didn’t beat around the bush going to MAGNA Manufacturing. They’ve been building military spec vehicles for decades. They’re a contract manufacturer for the G-Wagons, sure, they build the high-end ones, but they also build the military specificied Professional versions too. They’re experts.
Not only that, we employed all the engineers that had the know-how. We went to BMW, Eibach, Recaro, Bosch, ZF, Brembo. All of the experienced players, and said ‘Right, how do we all work together to integrate all of these tried and tested products into a holistic solution?” It’s all built on a heavy-duty frame. It’s been electrodipped, powder coated, wax injected, and comes with a 12-year perforation warranty. People looking to our vehicles appreciate that.
When we went to BMW for the powertrain, we’ve gone to them and actually de-tuned these drivelines to be appropriate for the use cases. Reliability was key here. We’ve looked at the cooling systems. Are they up for low speed, high stress, high heat situations. When we put the fuel systems onto the vehicle, petrols get two inline filters. Diesels get two inline filters and a water separator. We’ve reduced the service intervals too. In Europe they’re 20,000km apart, ours are 15,000km apart.
We’ve tried to look at how we prepare the vehicle from a design point to be as robust as possible. Our customers are conservative so we have to communicate in a different way to others. We test in plain sight. We put people in hand built early prototypes. It allowed people to see what’s gone into the platform.
U4X4:
The new vehicle manufacturing industry is going through some pretty rapid changes. There’s a lot of challenger brands popping up. Why do you think it is about these new manufacturers that has people’s attention?
Justin:
I think we’ve seen a real convergence of some big themes going on, if you look at the trajectory that 4X4s have taken. They’re all being homogenised into SUVs. The traditional 4X4s are getting left behind. When you look at shared platforms, the big shift in preparing for EVs, the pressures on manufacturing costs, and on shareholder returns. We’re just seeing people being left behind by the big manufacturers.
We’ve been able to acquire a low-volume plant, it already had a big investment that was already setup with everything brand new and configure it for the Grenadier. We can produce up to 30,000 vehicles a year and have a viable business. The big businesses wouldn’t get something like that off the ground with the shareholders. In 2022 you wouldn’t get a body-on frame, solid axle, ICE setup to market from a traditional manufacturer. You need someone who can meet that niche. We’ve hit the holes left behind by the Y61, the 80, the 105. Before they went into the SUV evolution. The new ones are great modern 4X4s, they are, but they’re not what every customer wants.
U4X4:
For some 4X4ers, modifying their rig is just as important as where it can take them. How customisable are the Grenadiers, and what sort of aftermarket options will be available?
Justin:
We’re very alert to this. When we look at our buying types, we have 4 of them, every single one sees the adaption to their use as critical. We consider the Grenadier as a blank canvas, a platform to build from. It’s almost like a commercial vehicle where the vehicle is just the start. We try to consider the diversity of our customers, and what they’ll want from their vehicle.
First and foremost, we consider the range of options and accessories we can put on the vehicle, as options from Ineos. We’ve got an integrated winch, a steel bumper, rock sliders, side steps, a roo bar. These are all things we’ve done. We’ve got pre-wiring in the vehicle, dual battery systems. It means you don’t have to rely on the aftermarket. That said, we’ve engaged with the aftermarket already, we’re not trying to protect what’s ours here. We want the aftermarket to work in parallel with us. We’ve gone to them and shown them the holes in our portfolio, shared our CAD data, invited them to early prototypes and pledged to give a select few early access to confirm what they’ve designed. We’re hopeful that all results in them being able to advance their timeline for development.
U4X4:
Australia has some of the biggest expanses of wilderness in the world and we’re often many days drive from anything resembling a city. What sort of support is there for warranty, services, and spare parts?
Justin:
We absolutely understand that our reputation will live or die by our ability to service our vehicles after they’ve been produced. You hit a roo, a pothole, something fatigues, things happen. When you’re putting things through arduous use, things are going to happen. While we’ve got traditional values in what we want our 4X4s to be, our business model is contemporary. Before we’ve even delivered a vehicle we’ve set up 30 agents country wide ready to go. We’ve got one in every capital city, the rest are all in regional centres. They’re in Dubbo, McKay, Townsville, they’re in Geraldton on the west coast.
We’ve looked at parts support too, getting parts to those agents is critical. We’ve got three parts distribution hubs around the world. We can drop ship anywhere we want. Belgium is the first, the second is Melbourne coming online early 2023, then the next is in North America. That means we can stock locally and deliver to our agent network. Even if you’re at Tibooburra at Joe’s 4X4 repairs, and they’ve got a tractor mechanic there, or you’re half capable yourself, you’ve got online/offline access to our electronic parts store. It’s like the bouncing ball in karaoke that’ll guide you through everything. Undo this bolt, use this torque setting, put this item there. Then get those parts sent to the nearest Big 4 caravan park. We’re not going to stand in the way, it’s open-source thinking. If somebody knows what they’re doing, why would we stand in the way.
U4X4:
The Grenadier has caught people’s attention down under. There’s always a crowd of on-lookers wherever it goes. But we’re a nation of dual cab utes. When can we expect a dual cab Grenadier?
Justin:
There is something absolutely in the pipeline, there is a dual cab coming. It’ll come with a tub, it’ll come with a cab chassis. We’ll be making an announcement around its timing in the coming months. Australia is framing up to be a key and very important market for this vehicle, everyone globally is looking to Australia with great interest. The network we’ve stood up is champing at the bit.
