- Team Grenadier entered the Grenadier Enhanced Protection Vehicle in the British Army's Light Mobility Vehicle competition.
- The EPV features a purpose-built steel cabin rated to NATO STANAG 2 for blast and ballistic protection.
- The Light Mobility Vehicle programme carries a budget of up to £2 billion (about $2.7 billion).
Ineos Automotive already builds Land Rover-style 4x4s for civilians. Now it wants a piece of the British Army, with an armored Grenadier that looks ready for work.
Team Grenadier consortium has rolled out the Grenadier Enhanced Protection Vehicle (EPV), an armored version of the boxy off-roader built around a bespoke steel cabin rated to NATO STANAG 2. It is the group’s opening shot in the Ministry of Defence Light Mobility Vehicle (LMV) contest to replace aging Land Rover and Pinzgauer fleets.
What The New Military Variant Adds
Instead of hanging armor plates on a standard shell, the EPV uses a purpose-built cabin engineered from scratch to meet STANAG 2 protection levels. That integrated structure spreads blast and ballistic forces more effectively than bolt-on kits.
The EPV targets client and VIP protection roles rather than front-line combat. That reflects hard lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan, where lightly protected Land Rovers suffered from mines and improvised explosive devices. The Ford Super Duty already serving in a related army program underlines how seriously underbody protection is treated today.
Production would be split. The base Ineos Grenadier platform is built in France and shipped to the United Kingdom, where partners handle the armored cabin, seats, electronic architecture, winch and suspension upgrades.
The EPV is one of nine Light Mobility Vehicle variants that Team Grenadier is developing off the same ladder-frame and permanent four-wheel-drive platform, which includes general-purpose, battlefield ambulance and troop-carrying roles.
Team Grenadier's Bid To Replace The Land Rover And Pinzgauer
Ineos is fronting a broader consortium. Hobson Industries and TVS Supply Chain Solutions join existing partners NMS UK and SMT Defence, with the group pitching stronger in-service management and maintenance support.
Chief Commercial Officer Mike Whittington credits Hobsons and TVS with bringing military know-how, commercial discipline and proven program delivery. Team Grenadier argues that combination will help keep EPVs in service longer and reduce downtime.
The stakes are high. The LMV contest sits inside the wider Land Mobility Programme, a roughly 20-year plan worth about £4 billion (about $5.1 billion) for more than 13,000 vehicles, including up to 863 LMVs. Around 20 percent of the LMV scorecard is “social value,” covering UK jobs and domestic investment as well as vehicle performance.
Trials of LMV candidates are due to start in late October, with a Land Rover-based rival bid chasing the same money. Team Grenadier’s armored showpiece still has to prove itself on the test track.
The EPV, the General Purpose Vehicle Grenadier and the Multi-Role Light Vehicle are due to appear at the DVD 2026 military event at UTAC Millbrook on September 16 and 17, giving the army its first close look at Grenadier hardware in the metal.
Motor1's Take: The EPV shows Ineos betting built-in protection, logistics strength and UK-based work will land the contract. Test results will decide it. Survivability, ease of repair and payload will matter more than any spec sheet.
