[5] The vehicle is named after Ratcliffe's favourite pub, The Grenadier, in Belgravia, London, where the initial idea was considered, and where a promotional presentation was shown.

[4] Comparing this project to James Dyson's plan to build an electric car in Singapore, which was cancelled in October 2019, writing off £500 million of his own money, an industry insider commented "If JLR, which made the Defender for 70 years, is struggling, then that's an indicator of how tough it's going to be for a newcomer".

[15] Mark Tennant, the commercial director of Ineos Automotive, told the Financial Times there had been 50,000 expressions of interest before the designs of the vehicle had been made public.

[16] In June 2020, Ineos Automotive unveiled a first look at the exterior design of the Grenadier, as well as some technical information relating to the vehicle's chassis, towing capabilities and suspension.

[17] On 7 July 2020, it was reported that Ineos Automotive was in talks with Daimler AG, the owner of Mercedes-Benz, to buy the Smart factory in Hambach, France, and build the Grenadier there instead of Wales and Portugal.

[18][19] Ken Skates, Welsh Government Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales said it would be "a real blow if Ineos reneged on its very public commitment".

[23] On 8 December 2020, Ineos announced it had purchased the Smartville factory at Hambach, France, to build the Grenadier, stating that the site's location "gives excellent access to supply chains, automotive talent and target markets".

[28] In January 2022, Ineos's engineering team was caught in a 'one-in-a-hundred year (flood) event' during hot weather testing in outback South Australia.

"[32] Speaking on how they would modernise the Defender's design he stated "That was when we started collecting similar vehicles – Bronco, Pajero, G-Wagen, various Jeeps – to see how other manufacturers had done it".

At the launch Ratcliffe said "The Grenadier project started by identifying a gap in the market, abandoned by a number of manufacturers, for a utilitarian off-road vehicle.

Compared to the SUV version, its wheelbase has been stretched by 305 mm (12.0 in) to fit the bed, which has a maximum payload capacity of 760 kg (1,680 lb).

[40] Both engines come mated to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission (codenamed 8HP51 for the petrol, 8HP76 for the diesel), with what Ineos calls a new "heavy duty" torque converter.

[40] The second Grenadier version is an electric model scheduled to enter production in 2026, to be developed with the Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna International, which already builds vehicles for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and the startup Fisker Inc.