Rugged, off-road-oriented SUVs just like the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler, and Land Rover Defender might quickly face competitors from a formidable contender developed by the newly minted automotive arm of British chemical big Ineos.

That contender is the Grenadier, a boxy, go-anywhere SUV modeled after the previous-generation Land Rover Defender, and in manufacturing at a plant in France because the summer time. The car begins deliveries in Europe and different markets within the fourth quarter of the yr, and Ineos is within the course of of building a U.S. vendor community.

From the onset of the car’s growth, Ineos has insisted the U.S. market is a part of the plan, and final summer time the corporate employed Greg Clark, a former advertising government at each Jaguar Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz, to assist launch native gross sales.

In an interview with Automotive Information (subscription required) revealed final week, Clark stated Ineos already has 5,000 reservations for the Grenadier from U.S. residents, and that the corporate was within the technique of signing up dealerships to transform these reservations to gross sales. He stated Ineos does not wish to go together with a direct gross sales mannequin like many rival startups, however relatively the extra conventional dealership mannequin.

Clark advised Automotive Information Ineos plans to have round 35 dealerships throughout the U.S. and Canada, and that various BMW dealerships and European import dealerships have expressed curiosity. Most of the Grenadier’s mechanicals are frequent to fashionable BMWs, together with the powertrain and transmission.

Clark has beforehand stated the Grenadier may begin U.S. gross sales earlier than 2023 is out, and that to maintain issues easy the corporate plans only one powertrain for this market, a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-6. Within the Grenadier, the engine is mated to an 8-speed automated and a four-wheel-drive system with a 2-speed switch case. A diesel is obtainable in different markets.

Additional down the monitor, a pickup physique model and probably even a hydrogen-electric powertrain could also be supplied. Ineos has additionally hinted at a smaller electrical SUV.

There isn’t any phrase on pricing however rumors level to a base sticker of round $75,000. Pricing in Europe begins at 68,990 euros (roughly $69,800).