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Production Delay

emax

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If the car is offered for sale in Germany as a used car, there are two relevant parameters, commonly given as abbreviations like so:
  • EZ, which means "Erstzulassung" = initial registration
  • BJ, which means "Baujahr" = year of construction (no, has nothing to do with some type of job ...)
So if you want to sell it as a 'collectible' you'll put the focus on 'BJ'. If it should look younger, you'll chose 'EZ'.
 
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Caladan

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so the second one is gone. It would be nice to hear about the reasons for this.
I can imagin some reasons for canceling the relationship with Ineos.
  1. The dealer has the feeling that they will get a lot of trouble with customers after the selling starts. Furthermore they do not feel confident that Ineos will be a reliable partner in solving those problems together with them.
  2. The dealers think they do not get enough money for their effortsand the risk they are taking.
Any other suggestion?
Potential dealerships have to bear all of the upfront costs/investments. It's one thing to do that for a known auto manufacture with proven automobiles. It's quite the high adventure to do so for a new, upstart with no mass production experience trying to bring a highly specialized, niche vehicle to global markets. As they saying goes "Fortune favors the Bold", and not everybody has the stomach for this amount of risk.
 

DCPU

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Potential dealerships have to bear all of the upfront costs/investments.
These are not dealerships, it's an agency model. As far as I've seen nobody has been required to build new premises based on brand architecture (although some appear to have done).

Certainly, there's no investment required in showroom stock or demonstrators.

Ineos have faced up to the issues you have suggested and negated them with a different commercial model.
 

bemax

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Is anybody able to look behind the paywall? Maybe is there someone from Saarbrücken passiv member of this forum and wants to come out now ;)

 

Caladan

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These are not dealerships, it's an agency model. As far as I've seen nobody has been required to build new premises based on brand architecture (although some appear to have done).

Certainly, there's no investment required in showroom stock or demonstrators.

Ineos have faced up to the issues you have suggested and negated them with a different commercial model.
The agency model is certainly interesting. Hope it works out for them (and we buyers) in the near term.

I use the term "dealerships" in line with the use of the term by Greg Clark, INEOS Executive VP for North America. He refers to them as "dealers" in interviews and when he recently described INEOS North America's goal of obtaining 'about 35 dealers for the U.S. and Canada'. You are indeed correct that IEOS is not seeking huge investments in showrooms or renovations of existing real estate. However, Clark did state that there was a financial investment requirement in the 'low six figures' for potential dealers.
 
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DCPU

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Ah, my apologies, I had not noticed you were from the US, where the agency model appears to be against the law in most states, other than for EV's.

It's obviously different for most, if not all, other regions Ineos is selling into.
 

Caladan

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Ah, my apologies, I had not noticed you were from the US, where the agency model appears to be against the law in most states, other than for EV's.

It's obviously different for most, if not all, other regions Ineos is selling into.
No problem. So when do you think you’ll take delivery? There are about 5,000 reservation holders here in North America. Would love to hear/see your impressions after taking delivery.
 

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My estimated build month remains unchanged from when I placed the order ~ November 2022. There's probably no reason to expect it arriving this side of Xmas, so a January delivery would be fine.
 

IG Pop

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A paragraph says:
Production begins "in September," as Björn-Lars Blank, a spokesman for Ineos Automotive, announced when asked by SZ. The ramp-up to full production is slower than planned; work is currently being done to ensure that production can be ramped up with the expected level of quality. "The delay is a direct result of the global supply chain disruption that is affecting the entire automotive industry," Blank said. The current delay only affects the first building sites from September to November, so customers with building sites from December are not affected. Every customer receives the appropriate information, the spokesman continued.
 

emax

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Here is the full article:

HAMBACH (sop) The Smart plant in Hambach went ahead after Daimler announced its withdrawal in 2020: No more maneuverable Smarts will be built at the plant near Saargemünd in France, but the Grenadier off-road vehicle is to come off the production line. The automotive division of the British chemicals group Ineos originally wanted to produce the model for customers from July, but now the start of production has been delayed again.

Production will begin "in September," according to BjörnLars Blank, a spokesman for Ineos Automotive, when asked by SZ. The ramp-up to full production is happening more slowly than planned, he said. Work is currently underway to ensure that production can be ramped up with the expected level of quality, he said. "The delay is a direct result of the global supply chain disruption that is affecting the entire automotive industry," Blank further informs. According to the company, the current delay affects only the first build lots from September to November; customers with build lots from December onward are not affected. Every customer will receive corresponding information, the spokesman continues.

According to the group, more than 15,000 advance reservations for the Grenadier have been placed worldwide - i.e., more than 15,000 advance orders with a down payment. "A deposit of 2,500 euros, refundable until the purchase contract is signed, secures a production slot," the spokesman explained when asked. Order numbers would be in line with planning, with the U.K., U.S. and Europe the largest markets, as well as Australia. Ineos does not want to give exact figures per country, such as how many cars were ordered in Germany.

Before the summer break, the Group confirmed plans for a second model series for a fully electric, smaller vehicle. The possibility of also building hydrogen-powered cars in Hambach was also to be examined. At the time of Smart, 1,600 people were employed at the Hambach plant and the associated supplier park; the Ineos agreement provides a guarantee for around 1,300 jobs until 2024.
 

MileHigh

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No problem. So when do you think you’ll take delivery? There are about 5,000 reservation holders here in North America. Would love to hear/see your impressions after taking delivery.
Do you know that number or is it a guess?

I’m starting to get nervous. Delays, delays, delays. Have ANY come off the line yet for sale? I know this is the Age of Delay, but I’d think that they would have better vision on the delays. How many are they going to get out this year?
 

Caladan

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Do you know that number or is it a guess?

I’m starting to get nervous. Delays, delays, delays. Have ANY come off the line yet for sale? I know this is the Age of Delay, but I’d think that they would have better vision on the delays. How many are they going to get out this year?
The 5,000 reservations? Yes, that number was reported by INEOS North American Executive VP, Greg Clark in an interview with Auto News on 09 September.

Having dealt with Ford for the past year, manufacturers really are at a loss to accurately track and predict component shortages in the current global environment.
 

Crofthead

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My production date of November 2022 has just disappeared to be replaced with a “-“
Frustrating!
 

Overlandplus

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More delaysn recieved this today, Not too happy, I had plans for using the IG for Aus wide travel, looks like I will have to change some plans.
 

Greg

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I do like the look of the white version driving off the prod line. The white looks a lot crisper than on the configurator.
 

Greg

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Bugger... I do like a good stormtooper white. Looks very yellow on the configurator and ended up deciding on green
 
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