A billionaire’s rugged SUV startup eyes U.S. growth

An automotive startup founded by a knighted billionaire, U.K. chemical mogul and minority owner of one of the world’s most prominent soccer clubs wants to rekindle the rugged SUV market.

The company — Ineos Automotive — has produced more than 35,000 off-road SUVs and pickups since starting in 2022, with ambitious growth plans that include potentially expanding vehicle production to the U.S. and a target this year to achieve breakeven, executives exclusively told CNBC.

“We’re running it for success. We’re running it for profitability,” Ineos CEO Lynn Calder told CNBC in an interview. “We’re just doing it really efficiently, and I think that that will allow us to, with not very much more sales, actually, to make it to breakeven.”

Ineos on Monday is set to announce a record number of orders for its flagship, gas- and diesel-powered Grenadier 4×4 vehicles during the first quarter, setting it up for a “great start” to the year, Calder said.

The company’s plans this year include growing sales in the U.S. — its largest market — by roughly 30% to 35% year over year, while further expanding awareness and sales globally after supply chain disruptions, tariffs and other issues affected its business last year.

That’s easier said than done, with increasing competitiveness in the global automotive industry, which is capital intensive. Most automotive startups, particularly all-electric vehicle companies, have gone bankrupt after burning through billions of dollars in capital.

“We’ve been quietly getting on, building a company, getting things right, learning as a new startup … to get to the stage where we’re ready to grow. And that’s kind of where we are now,” Ineos Automotive Chief Commercial Officer Mike Whittington said during a separate interview.

The carmaker, a subsidiary of multinational conglomerate and one of the world’s largest chemical producers, Ineos Group, is currently selling vehicles in 50 global markets across North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, China and Australia.

But its greatest focus right now is on the U.S., which accounts for roughly 60% of its sales, Whittington said.

The American market is crucial to the company achieving sales of 200,000 to 250,000 units by the early 2030s, at the latest, Calder told CNBC. She said that would include production at its current plant —a former Mercedes-Benz facility in France — as well as potentially adding a factory in the U.S.

“With our models having a huge appeal to the U.S. market, we should make it there, and that would make the most sense to us,” she said. “So, absolutely, we are fully looking at options for producing in the U.S.”

She said that could mean starting limited assembly in the U.S. in the coming years to help avoid tariffs, including a 25% “chicken tax” on light trucks imported to America that was enacted in 1964 as a response to a European levy on poultry to assist in protecting domestic manufacturing.

Ineos declined to disclose its current financials, but Calder confirmed the company has spent roughly $2 billion since its formation in 2017. That’s a relatively low amount given the company’s plant, production and retailer network, especially when compared with other recent automotive startups such as EV makers Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group.

“I love cars, but I’m not here as the ‘car gal.’ I’m here as someone that runs a business,” said Calder, who started leading the company after spending most of her career in Ineos’ petrochemicals and energy sectors. “And that’s kind of what I’ve just been describing. We need a scale, and that’s what we’re working toward.”

Ineos’ flagship vehicle is the $71,000 Grenadier, named after a well-known London pub that U.K. billionaire and company founder Sir James Ratcliffe was at when he initially came up with the idea.

The chemical mogul, who has a net worth of more than $18 billion, according to Forbes, decided to pursue the vehicle while at the Grenadier pub, as he felt there was a need for such a vehicle after the cancellation of the quintessentially rugged Land Rover Defender, he has said.

“We set out with a vision to build the world’s best utilitarian 4×4, and we have done just that,” Ratcliffe, a self-described adventurer and car enthusiast, has stated.

Ratcliffe is chairman and majority owner of chemical giant Ineos Group as well as minority owner of the British soccer club Manchester United. He had three nonnegotiables behind the Grenadier: functional design, serious durability and extreme off-road capability. It has a design that mixes elements of Mercedes-Benz’s prominent G-Class, or “G-Wagon,” SUV and a military Humvee, or Hummer.

The Grenadier is available in SUV, pickup truck and commercial models, powered by a gas-powered BMW 3.0-liter inline-six for the U.S. Other parts come from suppliers such as Bosch, Brembo and Recaro, with engineering development assistance from Magna.

The pickup truck model, called Quartermaster, starts at $84,400. A limited-edition, tailored model of the Grenadier SUV, called Detour, can cost around $157,000.

The company’s next vehicle is expected to be a smaller model called the Fusilier, which was anticipated to be an all-electric vehicle before Ineos paused development of that in 2024 to consider hybrid options for the vehicle as well.

Calder said Ineos aims to partner with other companies for future models rather than building from scratch like it did with the Grenadier. She said the Fusilier is expected in the next two to three years, followed by a much quicker product cadence after that.

“We’re just a bit of a renegade British brand with a rebellious car that gives people the chance to have an extremely fun, adventurous life,” Calder said. “I’m extremely optimistic about 2026 as being really sort of the next, pivotal milestone year in our growth.”