Why a simple new truck has to cost over $70,000 in 2025

Video Description

The Ineos Grenadier is a true throwback, a simple off-road SUV built with durability in mind. So why does it cost over $72,000? The real answer is a lot more complicated. Heavily inspired by the original Land Rover Defender, the Grenadier follows an incredibly basic formula—solid axles, minimal electronics, loads of switches and knobs inside. Even the dashboard is waterproofed so you can hose it down. And yet, the Grenadier costs twice as much as the Defender did when it went out of production in 2015. To be sure, one of the reasons is that Ineos is new to the car business. It’s a massive industrial conglomerate, but the Grenadier is its first vehicle, and it takes time to spin up supply chains at a scale that allows them to bring down the price. But the other, far more significant reason is that the car market has completely changed. It used to be that people would buy something like the Grenadier as a second vehicle, a compliment to their practical daily driver for weekend fun. But as all prices have gone up, and the buying power of the average person has gone down, fewer folks can justify that additional expense and instead need a single vehicle solution. In turn, automakers have flooded the market with do-it-all crossovers that are decent at most things but great at none (except maybe hauling your family around). So trucks like the Grenadier that refuse to compromise are the odd man out. There just aren’t enough buyers willing to spend even $50,000 on an SUV that’s incredible off-road but kind of drives like crap on pavement, or that skips fancy features in the name of long-term reliability, to make it work financially for Ineos. The reality is that in today’s economy, the Grenadier has to cost over $70K for Ineos to stay in the game. Simple is expensive in 2025, and the Grenadier is one big experiment. If they get it right, we can hope that their next model could be cheaper. But if they don’t… well, it doesn’t look good for the business of selling pure enthusiast vehicles. Produced by → https://www.instagram.com/joeyrassool/ Hosted by → https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha/ Previous episode → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26-4oARwfF4 The Drive is the chronicle of car culture. We write stories you actually want to read. → https://www.thedrive.com/ FOLLOW US! Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/thedrive/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thedrive TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@thedrive_official WORK WITH US → [email protected] 0:00 The price of simplicity 1:29 What's an Ineos Grenadier? 4:38 Expectations and regulations 9:22 The death of the second vehicle 12:01 No compromises 14:49 Canary in the coal mine