Ineos, the British petrochemical giant turned bakkie builder, is expanding its national dealer footprint in South Africa following record-breaking sales in the first six months of the year.
The brand’s new local retail strategy will shift from an agency model to a traditional dealer network, including appointing Auto Excellence to open new Ineos Grenadier and Quartermaster dealerships in Stellenbosch and Centurion.
Further ownership and after-sales support will see authorised repairers in George and Mbombela join the network, expanding maintenance coverage for South African Grenadier owners.
The expansion follows a record half-year of global retail sales, which increased 14.6% year-on-year, and specifically in the South African market, where retail orders were up 22%.
Leading the local expansion will be the badge’s newly appointed Head of Region, Charles Van Rensburg, who takes the job alongside his role as CEO of Ineos Kavango.
Ineos Kavango is a vehicle conversion specialist company, acquired by Ineos Automotive in 2023 to develop the Grenadier Game Viewer, which is due to be homologated locally before the end of August.
“That the brand has achieved its strongest-ever first-half sales in South Africa is a testament to the determination of our team, including our local retail and service partners,” said Van Rensburg.
“With an expanding network and a new operating structure better serving a wider spread of customers, and the homologation of the Grenadier Game Viewer, we’ve got an excellent opportunity to build on that momentum to further grow the brand in Africa.”
A bakkie built to go on safari
Despite undergoing local homologation, the Ineos Grenadier Game Viewer, an in-house 4×4 conversion by Ineos Kavango, was originally unveiled as a prototype concept.
After drawing great interest at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Travel Indaba and We Are Africa conventions, Ineos Kavango began production of the Grenadier-derived safari vehicle.
Ineos’s Hambach assembly plant in France supplies long- and extra-long wheelbase Grenadier models to Ineos Kavango in Botswana in a partial-build state.
These models arrive ready for conversion with no paint, tailgates, seats (except the front), side glazing, roof skin, trims or unnecessary electrical features.
The Game Viewer is then available with between four and nine rear passenger seats, depending on the wheelbase.
According to Ineos, buyers can extensively customise the Grenadier Game Viewer to their individual needs, including seating, storage layout and roof design.
These converted vehicles are also supported under manufacturer warranty, giving operators the freedom to design a vehicle that meets their requirements alongside the Ineos Kavango team.
Game Viewers designed and built in this way will remain backed by the brand’s full factory-backed aftersales support.
Owners and operators can also choose to maintain their Grenadier Game Viewer models themselves, without voiding the warranty, provided they use approved procedures and genuine parts.
The first Game Viewer models arrived in South Africa earlier this year and have been deployed at Mantis Hiddn Lodge, a five-star ultra-luxury lodge near Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.
The lodge was the first business in South Africa to order a Grenadier Game Viewer and today has two vehicles in action.
Alongside the retreat, a world-leading conservation and hospitality company, Wilderness, has ordered a sixth Grenadier Game Viewer to operate at its flagship camp in the Okavango Delta.
Wilderness aims to replace its entire fleet of safari vehicles with Ineos models in the future.
Local pricing for Ineos’s Grenadier models starts from R1,199,999 (ex-VAT) for the 2-seat Utility Wagon and R1,519,000 (including VAT) for the base Station Wagon and Quartermaster.
Ineos Grenadier Game Viewer prices start from R1,450,000, although this also excludes VAT.
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