Ineos Grenadier SUVCourtesy Ineos AutomotiveAn 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. Ineos Automotive CEO Lynn CalderCourtesy Ineos AutomotiveThat’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.U.S. production, expansionThe 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.”Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster pickup truckCourtesy Ineos AutomotiveShe said that could …
