July 3rd: Mercedes-Benz announced plans to sell their Hambach site in France which until now has produced the compact Smart Fortwo. The site, which employs around 1,600 staff, underwent a €450+ million upgrade in 2018 with a view to accommodating the manufacture of larger SUV-style vehicles.
July 7th, INEOS Automotive suspends plans to commence building factories in Wales and Portugal as discussions open with Mercedes-Benz.
Mark Tennant, INEOS Automotive commercial director, says: “It’s a serious business consideration.”
This isn’t the first time the factory that been considered as an option for the new Grenadier. But the previous dismissal was before the 2018 investment and modification to the site.
Dirk Heilmann, INEOS Automotive CEO, commented: “Of course we considered this route previously, but as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic some new options such as this one with the plant in Hambach have opened up that were simply not available to us previously. We are therefore having another look – and reviewing whether the addition of two new manufacturing facilities is the right thing to do in the current environment.”
“COVID has had an impact on our build schedules,” added Heilmann, “with ground clearing works and construction held up by the social distancing measures that have been required. Safety is of course paramount, but we also have an obligation to do what is right for the business – and so need to assess these new opportunities in order to maintain or improve on our timelines.”
Originally, INEOS Automotive had planned to build a new factory at Bridgend, Wales, where hopes were high for some of the staff at the Ford motor plant on the same site which is due to close this autumn. An additional factory in Estarreja, Portugal, was planned to build the bodywork and act as a collection hub for all European suppliers before shipping components to Wales for final assembly.
Should INEOS choose to settle at the Hambach factory, the move would resolve some of the manufacturing and logistical challenges as well as being a prudent commercial decision for such a young company.
