BREAKING: Ineos in talks with Daimler to take over Smart factory

Plant, based in Hambach, western France, would become manufacturing base for the new Grenadier

Britain's newest car manufacturer, Ineos Automotive, will confirm this morning that it is negotiating with Daimler to take over the Smart factory at Hambach, western France, as a manufacturing base for its new Grenadier range of 4x4 vehicles.

The factory would be a replacement for both its proposed chassis manufacturing plant in Portugal and its final assembly plant in Brigend, Wales.

It is understood that the possibility of doing a deal only arose over the past few days and a major attraction is the fact that Daimler has equipped the Hambach plant fairly recently to build a larger SUV model, alongside the Smart two-seat city cars that have always been its main output. This would suit the Grenadier manufacturing process.

Ineos' official position is believed to be that various new options have arisen since it committed to the deals in Portugal and Wales, and that it continues to investigate them, but that the Hambach deal is the one most likely to be concluded.

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