Mercedes-Benz put the Daimler car assembly plant in France up for sale last week as part of plans to optimize its global network and realign capacity as the industry shifts to electrification and digitalization of its vehicles and processes. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused car sales to crash in recent months. 

“As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, some new options such as this one ... have opened up that were simply not available to us previously," said Ineos Automotive CEO Dirk Heilmann. “We are therefore having another look - and reviewing whether the addition of two new manufacturing facilities is the right thing to do in the current environment.”

The assembly plant in Wales would have created up to 500 jobs as part of a £600 million investment to bring the Grenadier to market in 2021. The site was next to the current Ford facility at Bridgend, which will close this September with the loss of about 1,700 jobs. The facility in Portugal was to supply the vehicle’s chassis and parts of the body.

Ken Skates, Economy Minister with the Welsh government, said it would be “a real blow if Ineos reneged on its very public commitment”. “I have told the CEO that abandoning Bridgend at this late stage, after so much effort and money has been invested in preparing the site, would be a terrible decision for Wales and the UK,” he told BBC Wales. 

Ineos said it will consider its options over the next few weeks. This is the first time the multinational chemicals producer is entering into the world of automotive production. Projekt Grenadier is the brainchild of Ineos billionaire founder and chairman, Jim Ratcliffe, who spotted a gap in the market following the demise of the Defender, which Jaguar Land Rover stopped making in 2016.