INEOS Automotive unveils its first 4×4 EV, but also uses the moment to romanticize gas cars
During a livestream held from the Grenadier Pub in London today, young UK Automaker INEOS publicly unveiled its third model and first EV – the Fusilier. As a smaller version of its Grenadier sibling, the Fusilier will arrive with BEV and range extender options. Despite being all-electric, the Fusilier’s makers couldn’t stop talking about the potential of every other option besides electric.
INEOS Automotive is a vehicle sub-brand of Ineos Group Limited, a London-based conglomerate operating as one of the largest chemical companies in the world. The automotive arm was formed in 2017 by INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who currently sits as chairman and CEO. Ratcliffe saw a gap in the market for high-performance 4×4 vehicles that are rugged and reliable.
That new entry began with its flagship combustion vehicle, the Grenadier, launched in 2022. INEOS has since launched a double-cab pickup version of the Grenadier and donned the Quartermaster, both of which are powered by combustion.
At the time, however, INEOS shared that a 4×4 EV powertrain was in the works, leading to today’s launch of its third model – the Fusilier. Developed with the help of Magna, INEOS’ first EV model looks cool, but it’s hard to believe its own creators have faith in its success unless you choose the range extender version that still requires gas.
INEOS unveils new Fusilier EV in London
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS head of design Toby Ecuyer were joined by former Top Gear co-host and TV personality Richard Hammond, from the Grenadier Pub in London, which had been renamed the Fusilier Pub, but only for today.
The gentlemen briefly mentioned the new INEOS EV alongside a quick launch video you can view below, but the stream took a baffling turn from there as the conversation shed its sheep’s clothing as sunk into an ode to the glory days of gas cars and how many problems EVs still give consumers, spoon fed to the audience. Some of which just wanted to learn about this exciting new INEOS EV.
There’s no argument that such a nascent and fast-growing segment is taking its fair share of lumps as the market tries to keep up and adapt, but it was an interesting coming from the team itself. I’ll dig into that later, but let’s focus on the potential of the new Fusilier 4×4.
As mentioned, the Fusilier will come in full BEV and BEV + range extender powertrain options to meet a broader range of consumers. During the livestream, Ratcliffe stated that the BEV version will offer about 400km (249 miles) of range, plus another 270km (168 miles) with the gas engine extender. The automotive chairman and CEO spoke:
As we developed this vehicle, we quickly concluded that in order to move towards decarbonization but continue making cars that consumers want to drive, we need a mix of powertrain technologies. BEVs are perfect for certain uses: shorter trips and urban deliveries, but industry and governments need to have realistic expectations around other technologies that can help accelerate the necessary pace of change. That is the reason we are offering an additional powertrain for the Fusilier, one that dramatically reduces emissions but has the range and refueling capabilities needed.
The new INEOS EV is smaller and more aerodynamic than its Grenadier sibling while offering a classic feel and tremendous off-road capability – two design pillars on the automotive sub-brand were built. The exterior features active grille shutters that can manage airflow and maximize range and 7″ circular LED lighting in the front and rear to match the other INEOS vehicles.
There was no mention of battery size, chemistry, or charging capabilities. Just a lot of talk about petrol, synthetic fuels, and even hydrogen. This automaker is owned by a massive fuel and lubricant manufacturer, by the way.
As with the Grenadier station wagon and Quartermaster pickup, the INEOS Fusilier was developed alongside Magna International and will likely be built at Magna Steyr in Austria, which is currently home to Mercedes G-Wagon and Fisker Ocean production.
INEOS said it will share details of the alternative powertrains this coming fall and when the new EV will officially launch and begin sales.
Electrek’s take
Listen, I know there’s still a vast world of ICE fans out there, and EVs in their current state don’t make the most sense financially or performance-wise for plenty of consumers yet. We will get there, and that’s fine. But there’s a time and a place for those conversations, and I’m no PR expert, but a live stream launch event is not the appropriate time to talk about the potential gas cars still … have in the tank (sorry, I had to).
Some of us got up long before sunrise to tune into this event in London and report back to a loyal audience of EV enthusiasts hoping to learn more about a genuinely cool-looking 4×4 EV from INEOS, not to hear emcee Richard Hammond not so subtly steer every question and comment away from the (inevitable) future of electrification and tee INEOS Automotive’s CEO up for opportunity after opportunity to spread doubt and misinformation about it.
At one point, Ratcliffe said, “There are still huge gains to be made in combustion engines.” Hammond cited some unnamed study that said by 2050, a vast majority of cars in Europe will still be combustion. Not any new vehicles, that’s for sure.
Whether those points end up being true (they won’t), it still begs the question, “Why are we talking about this right now?” This was a public launch of an ELECTRIC VEHICLE. It’s hard to instill confidence in a new EV model when INEOS’ own executives don’t want to talk about it on the day it’s unveiled.
INEOS’ design strategy is clearly still heavily focused on gas engines, and that’s fine. They will have an audience. But if you’re going to build an EV to offer consumers a broader range of options, don’t half-ass it. This community can sniff that out in a second (ahem, Mazda).
We want to know about the batteries, where the cells came from, the acceleration, torque, towing, and, of course, all of the cool software features inside. There was none of that, so forgive me if it’s hard to get excited about this one so far. INEOS has a lot to learn and a lot more to share about its new EV, which could have been done today. Instead, we will wait patiently for the next stream… although I’ll probably just skip it, stay in bed for another hour or so, then and go straight to the press release.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Tesla’s earnings report dropped today, and news isn’t great. But instead of recognizing his failures that have led to Tesla’s downturn, CEO Elon Musk lashed out with conspiracy theories while also hypocritically failing to acknowledge that his company was only profitable this quarter due to regulatory credits.
The numbers are in on Tesla’s dismal quarter, with sales, profits and margins tanking significantly for the company despite a rising global EV market.
You’d expect a drop in car sales to be top of mind for a car company, but instead of talking about this, CEO Elon Musk opened the call by talking about his ineffective advisory role to a former reality TV host.
Musk is heading up the self-styled “Department of Government Efficiency,” an advisory group that is focused on reducing redundancy in government. The office is not an actual government department and has a redundant mission to the Government Accountability Office, which is an actual government department focused on reducing government waste.
Musk originally claimed that the department would be able to save $2 trillion for the US government, which is actually impossible because federal discretionary spending is $1.7 trillion, which is a (gets out abacus) smaller number than $2 trillion.
He has, of course, failed at this task that anyone with any level of competence would have known was impossible before setting it out for themselves, and now projects that the department will save $150 billion next year, less than a tenth of his original estimate. But even that projection is likely an overstatement, given that most of the supposed savings that DOGE has found are not actual savings at all.
On top of this, the US government’s deficit has grown to the second-highest level on record – with the first happening in 2020, the last time Mr. Trump squatted in the White House. Which means the government isn’t saving money, it is in fact borrowing and spending more of it than ever before.
So, Musk’s tenure in the advisory board has been an unmitigated failure by any realistic account.
But if you listened to Tesla’s call, you wouldn’t have known this, as Musk was quite boastful of his efforts – starting a Tesla conference call with an irrelevant rant about his fake government department, instead of with Tesla business.
He claimed that he has made “a lot of progress in addressing waste and fraud” and that the job is “mostly done,” which is not correct by his own metrics. Musk stated that his purpose is “trying to bring in the insane deficit that is leading our country, the United States, to destruction,” and as we covered above, that deficit has only increased.
But he also went on to spew some rather insane conspiracy theories about the reasons behind his company’s recent failures, all of which of course put the blame on someone else, rather than himself. The buck stops anywhere but here, I guess.
His primary assertion was that the “blowback from the time I’ve been spending in government” (which, again, is an advisory role, not an actual government position) has come mainly from protesters that were “receiving fraudulent money” and are now angry that the government money spigot has been turned off.
Which, of course, he’s provided no evidence for… and he’s provided no evidence for it because it’s false.
Besides, that’s not how protests work. But incorrect claims that protests do work that way are often used by opponents of free speech, with the motivation of putting a chilling effect public participation. Fitting behavior for an enemy of the First Amendment like Elon Musk.
Meanwhile, this assertion also comes from a person who tried and failed to bribe voters to win an election. Perhaps his admiration of Tesla protesters is aspirational – he wishes his ideas were good enough to inspire that sort of grassroots political effort that money, demonstrably, cannot buy.
But this hypocrisy extends beyond Musk’s hatred of free expression, and strikes at the heart of the business he is the titular leader of, Tesla, the organization that has made him into the richest man in the world. Because not only is it not true that Tesla protests are driven by his ineffective government actions (they are, in fact, driven by him doing Nazi stuff all the time), it’s also objectively true that Musk’s companies are a large recipient of government money.
And that’s particularly relevant today, to the very earnings call where Musk made his ridiculous assertion, because in Q1 2025, Tesla only turned a profit due to government credits. Without them, it would have lost money.
Tesla only profitable in Q1 due to regulatory credits
Per today’s earnings report, Tesla earned $595 million in regulatory credits in Q1. But its total net income for the quarter was $409 million.
This means that without those regulatory credits, Tesla would have posted a -$189 million loss in Q1. It was saved not just by credit sales, but credit sales which increased year over year – in the year-ago quarter, Tesla made $442 million in regulatory credits, despite having higher sales in Q1 2024 than in Q1 2025. So not only were credits higher, but credits per vehicle were higher.
This is a common feature of Tesla earnings, and we even said in our earnings preview that we expected it. While Tesla had a bad quarter, nobody expected it to become actually unprofitable, because there was always the possibility of increasing regulatory credit sales to eke out a profitable quarter.
And this has been the case many times in Tesla’s past, as well. In earlier times, Tesla’s first few profitable quarters were decried by the company’s opponents as an accounting trick, suggesting that regulatory credit sales weren’t “real” profits, and that the cars should have to stand on their own.
This is a silly thing to say – businesses do business in the environment that exists, and every business has an incentive structure that includes subsidies and externalities. If we were to selectively write off certain profits for certain businesses, we could make a tortured case that any business isn’t profitable.
Plus, these opponents didn’t extend the same treatment to the oil industry, which is subsidized to the tune of $760 billion per year in the US alone in unpriced externalities, yet that is somehow never mentioned during their earnings calls.
Musk has even claimed, probably correctly, that if all subsidies were eliminated both for EVs and for oil & gas, that EVs would come out ahead compared to the status quo (more recently, Musk has become one of the biggest funders of anti-EV forces, allying himself with a bought-and-paid oil stooge who is giving even more preferential treatment to the oil industry).
But, setting aside the debate over whether credits are valid profits (they are), for years now we’ve been well beyond Tesla’s reliance on credits. The company has produced significant profits, regardless of credit sales, for some time now.
At least, until today. That’s no longer true – Tesla did rely on credits to become profitable in Q1. And Musk starting the call with a ridiculous rant about government handouts not only shows his hypocrisy and projection on this matter, but his detachment from reality itself. He is, truly, too stuck in the impenetrable echo chamber of his self-congratulating twitter feed to realize what an embarrassment he’s being in public – to the point of inventing shadow enemies to explain the very real, very simple explanation that people aren’t buying his company’s cars because he sucks so much.
Charge your electric vehicle at home using rooftop solar panels. Find a reliable and competitively priced solar installer near you on EnergySage, for free. They have pre-vetted installers competing for your business, ensuring high-quality solutions and 20-30% savings. It’s free, with no sales calls until you choose an installer. Compare personalized solar quotes online and receive guidance from unbiased Energy Advisers. Get started here. – ad*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
No matter how badly a fleet wants to electrify their operations and take advantage of reduced fuel costs and TCO, the fact remains that there are substantial up-front obstacles to commercial EV adoption … or are there? We’ve got fleet financing expert Guy O’Brien here to help walk us through it on today’s fiscally responsible episode of Quick Charge!
This conversation was motivated by the recent uncertainty surrounding EVs and EV infrastructure at the Federal level, and how that turmoil is leading some to believe they should wait to electrify. The truth? There’s never been a better time to make the switch!
Source Links
Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Vermont’s EV adoption has surged by an impressive 41% over the past year, with nearly 18,000 EVs now registered statewide.
According to data from Drive Electric Vermont and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, 17,939 EVs were registered as of January 2025, increasing by 5,185 vehicles. Notably, over 12% of all new cars registered last year in Vermont had a plug. Additionally, used EVs are gaining popularity, accounting for about 15% of new EV registrations.
To put it in perspective, Vermont took six years to register its first 5,000 EVs – and the last 5,000 were added in just the previous year.
Rapid growth, expanding infrastructure
In just two years, Vermont has doubled its fleet of EVs, underscoring residents’ enthusiasm for electric driving. To support this surge, the state now boasts 459 public EV chargers, including 92 DC fast chargers.
The EV mix in Vermont is leaning increasingly toward BEVs, which represent 60% of the state’s EV fleet. The remaining 40% consists of PHEVs, offering flexible fuel options for drivers.
Top EV models in Vermont
Vermont’s favorite EVs in late 2024 included the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Nissan Ariya, Toyota RAV4 Prime PHEV, Tesla Model Y, and the Ford F-150 Lightning. These vehicles have appealed to Vermont drivers looking for reliability, performance, and practical features that work well in Vermont’s climate.
Leading the US in reducing emissions
This strong adoption of EVs earned Vermont the top ranking from the Natural Resources Defense Council for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in transportation in 2023. “It’s only getting easier for Vermonters to drive electric,” noted Michele Boomhower, Vermont’s Department of Transportation director. She emphasized the growing variety of EV models, including electric trucks and SUVs with essential features like all-wheel drive, crucial for Vermont’s climate and terrain.
Local dealerships boost EV accessibility
Nucar Automall, an auto dealer in St. Albans, is a great example of local support driving this trend. With help from Efficiency Vermont’s EV dealer incentives – receiving $25,000 through the EV Readiness Incentive program – it recently installed 15 EV chargers for new buyers and existing drivers to use.
“Having these chargers on the lot makes it easier for customers to see just how simple charging an EV can be,” said Ryan Ortiz, general manager at Nucar Automall. Ortiz also pointed out the growing affordability of EVs, thanks to more models becoming available and an increase in pre-owned EVs coming off leases.
Read more: Vermont becomes the first US state to pass a law requiring Big Oil to pay for climate damage
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway