INEOS Automotive has secured the first orders from sovereign defence forces for its Grenadier 4×4. The company announced on 5 October 2026 that it has received “substantial contracts” for the supply of INEOS Grenadiers from the Italian Army and the Austrian government, while declining to specify the actual amounts of vehicles ordered.

Italy thus becomes the first NATO country to place a sizable Grenadier order for its military. ATflow, INEOS Automotive’s regional distributor, will commence deliveries to the Italian Army from early 2027.

Meanwhile, an Austrian government tender was won by Valentin Tusch GmbH, a vehicle armouring and conversion specialist, to supply what INEOS Automotive described as “Austrian Defence and Interior security forces” with Grenadiers adapted for enhanced protection. First deliveries and trials of these vehicles will begin by the end of this year.

LMV: the Grenadier’s biggest target

The Grenadier is already being used by police and border security forces, special forces and emergency rescue services around the world, including elite counter-terrorism and tactical intervention units in Germany, France and Spain. Numerous countries on the eastern border of Europe have chosen the Grenadier for their security and border forces, including Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Slovakia.

Since the Grenadier went into production in October 2022, around 40,000 vehicles have been sold, primarily to retail customers. However, the biggest prize INEOS Automotive is chasing is the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) Light Mobility Vehicle (LMV) requirement, which is intended to directly replace the UK’s legacy light, mobile tactical platforms, most specifically the Land Rover- and Pinzgauer-based fleets that are due to be retired by 2030.

As Lynn Caulder, CEO of INEOS Automotive, noted to journalists at a company press facility on 2 September 2026 with regard to the LMV requirement, “Our vehicle was engineered precisely for this purpose; that was the original vision in mind.”

On 1 October 2026 Team Grenadier – the industry teaming in which INEOS Automotive is joined primarily SMT Defence and NMS UK – was among seven LMV bidders downselected by the UK MoD to move forward with providing candidate vehicles for trials.

The Grenadier order from the Italian Army, along with the Austrian order for protected Grenadier variants, serves to put further momentum behind Team Grenadier’s LMV bid.

The Enhanced Protection Vehicle (EPV) Grenadier variant that forms part of Team Grenadier’s LMV bid is produced by NMS UK after receiving the base rolling chassis with enhanced suspension from the INEOS Automotive production line in Hambach, France. An example of an EPV Grenadier was first displayed to journalists at NMS UK’s facilities in Leamington Spa on 2 September 2026.