North Sea oil and gas entrepreneur Jim Ratcliffe revealed more details of his plans to build a new 4×4 vehicle – “projekt grenadier” – at a pub in central London yesterday.
The billionaire behind North Sea oil and gas newcomer Ineos Breagh, part of chemical giant Ineos, aims to build 25,000 vehicles a year from 2020 along the lines of the Land Rover Defender, which went out of production in 2016.
He said the project had attracted considerable attention from outside the UK.
Mr Ratcliffe added: “In an ideal world we would like to build it in the UK, which is where its (the Land Rover Defender’s) heritage is based, but we have had a significant amount of interest from the continent, where we could use existing facilities.”
Ineos plans to spend up to £600million on the project, which will see 4×4 versions built – petrol, diesel and hybrid. There are no plans for an electric version because of the weight of battery required.
Mr Ratcliffe said companies in a number of countries, including Germany, had the space and skilled workforce available to build the as-yet-unnamed 4×4, adding it would be a “challenge” to base production in the UK without a subsidy.