Ineos has today announced that negotiations are underway with Daimler to assume control of the 'Smartville' production facility in Hambach, north-east France. If the talks are successful, the factory would replace both of the previously proposed Grenadier assembly plants - chassis manufacture in Portugal, and final assembly in Bridgend.
A statement highlights "delays in our development plans" related to Covid-19, but also of "some new opportunities in terms of existing manufacturing capacity that were not previously available to us." The appeal of Hambach is almost certainly linked to the investment recently lavished by Daimler on the site, equipping it to a build a larger SUV alongside the long-running city car; outlay which has since gone to waste following the decision to move Smart production to China. Acquisition of such a facility would clearly deliver Ineos a running start.
The statement adds: "Specifically, Ineos Automotive has entered detailed discussions with Mercedes-Benz on the acquisition of its Hambach site in Moselle, France. We have therefore suspended the post-lockdown resumption of work at our sites in Wales and Portugal pending the outcome of this review. Further updates will follow in the coming weeks."
That wait obviously leaves Bridgend and Portugal on tenterhooks for the duration. The fate of both sites hinges on the outcome of the negotiations, which are evidently serious enough for Ineos to have ceased development work. The advantages of combining operations under one roof likely makes Hambach the preferred solution - and that's before factoring in the impact of Brexit later this year. Shipping engines and gearboxes to France may yet prove considerably easier than sending them to Wales in 2021.
A more convenient logistical situation for Ineos will be of no consolation to the anticipated 500 jobs at Bridgend that the firm had earmarked for creation in the aftermath of Ford's exit from the region. But if the past few months have taught us anything, it's that the automotive industry is as supremely vulnerable to financial disruption as any other. Perhaps more so than most. That Ineos is chasing the biggest bang for its investment buck is indisputably prudent - even if it does further distance the Grenadier from its nominal position as the spiritual successor to a very British sort of off-roader.
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