Latest news with #INEOSGroup
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
As INEOS looks to grow in the US, it must deal with Trump's tariffs and the 'Chicken Tax' on trucks
While Land Rover has its new Defender, some customers yearn for the old boxy, body-on-frame brute. The one that seemed to be in every issue of National Geographic in the '70s and '80s. Enter the INEOS Grenadier. The brainchild of billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, founder of London's INEOS Group, the Grenadier is the spiritual successor of those older British off-roaders. The rugged Grenadier went on sale in the US last year, and things started well, with decent sales of around 8,000 units, starting at $78,900, and targeted sales growth of 50%. But then, INEOS got hit with President Trump's tariffs. INEOS builds its vehicles in France, and that means it's under EU trade restrictions and gets hit with a 25% US auto sector tariff, which could be more if the EU doesn't get a deal done with the White House by Aug. 1. 'We find ourselves right in the eye of the storm,' INEOS CEO Lynn Calder told Yahoo Finance. 'So even once there was a tariff deal negotiated ... between the UK and the US, that meant nothing for us.' Currently, UK auto imports to the US "only" face a 10% tariff rate. Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet In April, INEOS said it would be capping tariff price increases at 5% on its vehicles. While a 15% proposed tariff on EU goods like autos sounds better than the alternative of 25% and up, a peculiar issue affects INEOS with regard to its latest product, the pickup truck version of the Grenadier known as the Quartermaster. 'The Quartermaster is also a European-made pickup truck that also attracts [a] 'chicken tax.' So we've taken an absolute double whammy on this vehicle, which is a perfect car for the US market,' Calder said. The "chicken tax" is a remnant of trade policy originating in the 1960s. Following European tariffs on US poultry, the US imposed a 25% tariff on foreign-made light trucks — a trade policy that still stands today. At the time, the tariffs on light-duty trucks were a protectionist measure against Volkswagen (VWAGY). This means there is a 50% tariff right now on the Quartermaster, Calder said, which currently starts at $92,900. A quick trade resolution can't come fast enough for European automakers like INEOS. If and when that comes to pass, INEOS can focus on its next offering in the US, the midsize Fusilier SUV, which will come in both EV and range-extending hybrid options and likely have a lower starting price. And looking beyond that, Calder said the option of building INEOS vehicles in the US is on the table. Assuming it's feasible, the move would make sense for an automaker targeting the lion's share of its sales in the States. INEOS is going to need all the help it can get. It is competing in a hyper-competitive luxury SUV market in the US dominated by Cadillac (GM), BMW ( Mercedes (MBGAF), and Land Rover. A hybrid, midsize SUV like the Fusilier, made in the US, would help make INEOS a bigger player in an SUV-crazed market. Chicken tax or no chicken tax. Pras Subramanian is the lead auto reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
Daily Mirror
22-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd's latest ticket price hike after disastrous season is an insult to fans
When Sir Jim Ratcliffe took his initial 27.7percent share of Manchester United, the top line was that he would be taking charge of football operations. Turns out 'football operations' included sacking office staff and giving ticket prices a hike after a season that included EIGHTEEN Premier League defeats. And just for effect, news of the increases came on a day when the fixtures for the next Premier League season were published - a day that should be about hope and optimism and about wiping the slate clean. Increasingly, Ratcliffe and his INEOS Group are becoming the embodiment of people who know how to make billions out of business but are clueless when it comes to winning the hearts of minds of a football club's fanbase. Perhaps they are not overly interested in hearts and minds, perhaps they really are only interested in money. After all, it will take many, many more years - possibly decades - of underachievement on the field of play before United loses its allure as one of sport's most iconic institutions. That might be a hard notion for rival supporters to stomach but that is fact. United could probably double ticket prices and still sell Old Trafford out. The crowd's demographic would be different - there would be a lot of tourists around - but they would still fill the stadium. And they would probably fill a new one seating 100,000. But these ticket prices are not particularly jaw-dropping in scale, to be honest. The Manchester United Fans' Advisory Board even said: 'We are relieved that the club was persuaded to limit the increases to the same percentage rise as recent seasons and we are pleased they froze prices for our youngest fans.' But that same group had called for a ticket-price freeze that they 'felt was justified due to the current circumstances.' And that is the point. After the season United had - ending in the dismal Europa League final defeat - asking fans to pay more for the privilege of watching a strictly mediocre team almost smacks of having a laugh at the supporters' expense. It smacks of doing it because they know they can. It is common for clubs, for ticket pricing purposes, to categorise games, but on the evidence of their performances at Old Trafford last season, is ANY game involving this United side a Category A match? But there are six Category A games at Old Trafford next season - against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur - and tickets for those fixtures range from £59 to £97. No matter what your take on the scale of the increases - and United are certainly not the only club to do this - it is the fact the increases come against a backdrop of players under-performing hugely for hugely over-inflated salaries. It comes against a backdrop of the Glazers having taken out millions and millions in dividends over the period of their ownership. And it is simply hard to believe that, as a nod towards United's fantastic support, the club and Sir Jim and INEOS could not have stood a season in which ticket prices remained the same. Actually, scrap that. It is not hard to believe. It is easy. Because these people know a lot about business but little about being a football fan. Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Sky has slashed the price of its bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more. Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
