AN MSP has urged the chairman and founder of chemicals group Ineos to consider the company’s Grangemouth site for the production of a new off-road 4 x 4 vehicle.
Angus MacDonald, the SNP member for Falkirk East, wrote to Jim Ratcliffe after it was suggested Grangemouth would not be looked at for production of a new Land Rover Defender.
Like MacDonald, Ratcliffe is a fan of the original Land Rover Defender, on which the new vehicle, will be based.
Ratcliffe has created a company that is expected to invest millions in the production of the off-roader, which is aimed at filling a gap in the market where the original once stood.
Ineos has completed various feasibility studies into producing the vehicles, but has yet to announce where production would be located.
MacDonald wrote to billionaire Ratcliffe say: “Ineos already employs more than 1300 people, directly and indirectly, through the Grangemouth plant.
“It would be a huge boost to the local economy if the 4 x 4 production site were to be placed in Grangemouth. The port also offers the perfect location for investment and would provide the ideal platform for this project.
“The Grangemouth plant is ideally located, with clear access to many routes of transportation. It lies at the centre of Scotland’s industrial heartland, between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and is served by the M9 motorway. Any new production site would want the most accessible route to market across the world and with access to national road and rail networks.
“In addition, the Port of Grangemouth is the UK’s largest feeder port and the only port in the UK which exports more than it imports. Evidently, Grangemouth’s location gives the perfect combination for further development as a logistics and distribution hub with its road, rail and sea links as well as available land. Clearly this would be a fantastic opportunity for the town, the local economy and for the already cast iron reputation of Grangemouth as place to invest.
“I would be more than happy to see a new global icon born in the port, to be enjoyed by the world.”
In his letter, MacDonald said consideration should also be given to electric and hybrid models of the new vehicle, following the Land Rover-Jaguar partnership and the latter’s project to develop a Formula E electric world championship racing car in conjunction with Panasonic. He said: “The Formula E championship represents the growing trend toward electric and environmentally friendly vehicles, and with the popularity of entirely electric Tesla road cars appealing to luxury vehicle owners, it is my belief that an electric or hybrid model of a 4 x 4 vehicle ... would certainly be an attractive option for many motorists.”
Ineos did not response to a request for comment before The National went to press.
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