I received an invite today to the above hosted by Ineos Australia CEO Justin Hocevar, and Glen Boyd, the Aust/NZ Senior After Sales Manager talking about the engineering aspects.
Purnell's Sydney 27 Feb, Ignition Centre Brisbane 13 Mar and Brighton Vic 20 Mar 6-8pm.
I'm looking forward to it.
I know it's a small thing, but it reflects the constant inattention to detail which has seems to be a hallmark of elements of the Ineos (UK) operation which sent the invite:
the event is scheduled for 6am -8am!! whereas elsewhere it's 6pm-8pm....
Just wondering how many other Brisbane folk here might be attending? (at 6-8pm!
)
I attended this event last night as a guest of
bigleonski. Was an absolute pleasure to meet him and
DenisM. I'm sure there would have been a few other forum members there.
A great event put on by a local agent and the Ineos Automotive Australia leadership team. Maybe 50+ folks present as a mix of current owners and interested future owners. Wall to wall Grenadiers in every spec and colour/color
.
A few points that stuck in my mind overnight:
1. About 1300 Grenadier sales locally by the end of this month. Tiny market versus the UK, EU and US markets but a good initial take up against stiff competition. US is winning on sales and is absorbing most of the current production capacity.
2. Software is the biggest vehicle issue, with the AU/NZ and some SA markets impacted by a GPS signal timing issue which affects Apple Carplay, the Compass (if fitted) and Pathfinder. A fix for this may be about 4 weeks away. The software is currently undergoing validation in Stuttgart. Several (10?) vehicles are running the fix locally with good results.
3. IA acknowledged that their backend enterprise systems have let them and customers down quite badly. Affects orders, invoicing, tracking, etc. Justin suggested IA should have started the enterprise backend 1-2 years earlier. It is still getting many $M thrown at it to make it perform to expectation.
4. 100% commitment to delivering the promised access to workshop manuals, although perhaps not as fully featured as the version that agents get. Many issues surrounding this project including a suitable delivery platform (web-based) and legal aspects. Justin suggested we may see more on this in Q4/2024.
5. A$10M of spares holdings currently in the Melbourne Australia parts hub. Some parts remain in short supply.
6. The 'broken front driveshaft' was caused by a dislodged circlip. It could have been reassembled and put back in but IA opted to replace the shaft for expediency.
7. No clear root cause identified for the Stockton Beach vehicle fire. Assessment so far is that it was not related to a fuel (leakage) or electrical fault. IA Stuttgart want the vehicle shipped to them for further investigation but there are quarantine issues because the vehicle is full of beach sand and chemical residue from the burnt galvanized frame coating.
8. The first Quartermaster has landed in Australia for validation. First customer vehicles about a month behind that.
9. Quartermaster cab-chassis mentioned but no new details offered. Will go head to head on sales against the Toyota 79 series cab-chassis in Australia.
10. Future Grenadier MY is likely to require a 24V mild hybrid setup to achieve Euro7 emission standards.
11. Fusilier mentioned in passing. Likely release for MY26/27. BEV plus combustion engine 'range extender', i.e. an onboard battery charger.
12. Hydrogen is still in the growth plan. Bottle neck is the lack of filling station infrastructure.
That's my recollection. If you were there please add your inputs below.
