The Ineos Fusilier Is An EV With A Range-Extending Engine Because EVs Can’t ‘Get You From A To B’
While Mercedes backtracks on its future electric vehicle plans and Ford cuts production of its battery-powered F-150 Lightning, British automotive upstart Ineos has entered the murky waters of electrification with an EV of its own, the Fusilier. But at its launch, company boss Jim Ratcliffe made no excuses for the limitations of purely battery-powered cars, so announced that his EV will also be available with a range-extending engine to keep you off-roading for longer.
The Fusilier will be Ineos’ first EV and its third model after the Grenadier off-roader was joined by the Quartermaster pickup truck last year. Unlike those two models, which are powered by internal combustion engines sourced from BMW, the new car will run on battery power… for the most part.
“We have to have this offering, whether we like it or not,” said company founder and second richest man in England, Jim Ratcliffe at the unveiling of the new car. “But we do like it because it’s a good thing for the world.”
Under the hood, the Fusilier will be available with two different powertrains, which Ineos says will include a wholly electric setup that’s powered by batteries it plans to source from Samsung. The second option will also incorporate a low-emission range extender. This range-extender pairs a small petrol engine with a generator that can be fired up to top-up the batteries that power the electric motors in the car.
“The big problem I have with the electric vehicle is that it has two huge failings, one it doesn’t get you from A to B if you want to go on a decent journey. And you can’t fill it up,” explained Ratcliffe.
“It’s quite tough to sell an electric car in the UK at the moment, because a lot of the population do want to go on a long journey, so they don’t want range anxiety.
“So the direction we are going to go is probably have two offerings. I have an electric vehicle, which I think will be very capable, but my personal strong preference is the same electric vehicle with a range extender under the bonnet.”
This setup, Ineos says, will enable users to dramatically cut their emissions while keeping the “range and refueling capabilities” that certain users demand. And while there’s no word yet on exactly what the range of the Fusilier will be, Ratcliffe alluded to figures around “400km,” which is roughly 250 miles, for the all-electric model and further for the range-extended option.
As well as sharing details of how the new car will power itself, Ineos also shared renders of the design for its next vehicle. The new car, which Ratcliffe said would be ready by “mid-2027,” is a clear evolution of the work Ineos has done on the Grenadier. As such, it’s recognizably rugged, with similar angular styling throughout. However, Ineos says the Fusilier will be smaller than the Grenadier when it finally launches.
Production of the new car is still a few years off, but Ineos confirmed that it has once again partnered with Magna International on the engineering of the Fusilier. The Austrian firm also assisted with the development of the Grenadier and Quartermaster pickup truck for Ineos, and has experience working on electric and hybrid cars.
The Fuselier and its battery and range-extended options isn’t the first time Ineos has experimented with alternative power sources for its cars. At last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, the British automaker unveiled a version of its flagship Grenadier with a hydrogen fuel cell at its heart.
