The U.K.'s Ineos has been forced to cease production at its plant in Hambach, France, due to financial trouble at one of its suppliers.
The news was first reported on Sept. 19 by Automotive News (subscription required), which cited comments by CEO Lynn Calder.
She said the supplier is responsible for a certain trim component that Ineos' vehicles can't be sold without, and that Ineos is looking for an alternative source for the component.
She added that the current supplier is attempting to turnaround its business but the delay, if no alternative is found, might mean Ineos won't be able to restart production until late this year or even early next year.
Lynn Calder
The Ineos lineup consists of the Grenadier, a midsize SUV with body-on-frame construction, plus a related pickup truck called the Grenadier Quartermaster.
Ineos offers both vehicles in the U.S., with the Grenadier priced from $71,500 and the Grenadier Quartermaster priced from $86,900. Production for the U.S. market has been running since last fall.
Ineos was only founded in 2016 but the company is part of the Ineos chemical giant which was established in 1998. The company as recently as May planned to add two more SUVs, including an electric vehicle, as well as a second plant. However, it said in August it was putting those additional plans on hold in order to focus on additional variants of the Grenadier and Grenadier Quartermaster, and launching into more markets.
Ineos is on the verge of launching in China and Mexico, which will grow its list of markets to almost 50 countries. Calder told Automotive News that those launches will still happen.
