NEW YORK — While the NAB and companies such as iHeartMedia share the message that in the hinterlands of America, where FM and smartphone data can’t be had, AM radio is the chief communicator of important information, SiriusXM has a different message to share.
Thanks to a new deal announced today, the satellite radio and digital audio company’s “entertainment experience” will now be a standard feature in every new “modern offroad-oriented 4×4” from INEOS Automotive.
Not familiar with the company? Perhaps that’s because its entry into the U.S. marketplace was just announced less than one month ago.
The first series production Grenadier 4X4s for North America are now rolling off INEOS Automotive’s production line in Hambach, France. The first U.S.-bound Grenadier – a Belstaff Fieldmaster edition in Scottish White – emerged from the end-of-line Quality Inspection bay on September 21.
More than 7,000 orders have already been placed for the Grenadier in the U.S., INEOS says, making it INEOS Automotive’s largest market. First customer deliveries are expected to start in November for those in the U.S. and in January 2024 for Canadian buyers. All of those buyers will enjoy SiriusXM as a standard feature, and gain a three-month trial subscription to the “Platinum Plan,” which includes access to SiriusXM on the app and via a smart device outside of the vehicle.
INEOS Automotive’s entry into North America comes after the company acquired the manufacturing facility at Hambach from Mercedes-Benz in January 2021 and has subsequently invested over €50 million with the Grenadier line now including a new semi-automated paintshop, a new fully-automated bodyshop, and a new quality center.
INEOS Automotive Executive Vice President/Americas Greg Clark commented, “The Grenadier has been built on purpose to combine the best off-road capabilities with the modern refinement today’s drivers want. Including entertainment options such as SiriusXM is a great way to put our customers in control of how they want to integrate technology in their driving experience.”
Gail Berger, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Automotive Partnerships for SiriusXM, added, “The INEOS Grenadier is an exciting new entry to the North American 4X4 market and we are pleased to deliver to every one of their drivers SiriusXM’s unrivaled in-car audio entertainment experience.”
Headquartered in Raleigh, INEOS Automotive’s North American team will soon announce its first wave of appointed dealers. The North American retail and service network will join a global footprint for INEOS Automotive across more than 40 markets, with customer deliveries having already started in 20.
In 2017, INEOS Chairman Jim Ratcliffe, a car enthusiast and experienced adventurer, identified a gap in the market for “a stripped back, utilitarian, hard-working 4×4 engineered for modern day compliance and reliability.” INEOS Automotive Limited was formed and a senior team of automotive professionals assembled to bring the vision to reality with a fresh perspective of 4×4 development and manufacturing.
INEOS Automotive is a subsidiary of INEOS Group (www.ineos.com), a manufacturer of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil products.
