INEOS Automotive has become an official partner of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Over the next five years, the INEOS Grenadier will become the official vehicle of RNLI lifeboats, assisting their volunteer lifesavers to help for those who are in difficulty in the water and in need of their help.

Over the duration of the partnership, Grenadier Station Wagons will be deployed at locations around the UK and Ireland to support the charity’s courageous volunteers in their lifesaving role.

As well as undertaking regular duties at RNLI lifeboat stations, the Grenadier’s main role will be to position, launch and recover the RNLI’s D-class lifeboat at selected stations. Highly manoeuvrable and able to operate close to shore, the inflatable D-Class has for the past 60 years been the charity’s workhorse, saving over 30, 000 lives and aiding over 160,000 people. It comes into its own for searches and rescues in the surf, shallow water and confined locations, often close too cliffs, among rocks and even inside caves.

After intensive rounds of assessing the suitability of a number of 4x4 vehicles, the Grenadier will use its best-in-class combination of off-road and on-road driving performance, and the robustness and durability to safely withstand the rigours of RNLI activities. Like the RNLI’s lifeboats which are built to operate effectively in some of the most challenging and time critical situations, the Grenadier’s robustness will become the perfect addition to the charity’s launch and recover equipment.

Jamie Chestnutt, RNLI Director for Engineering and Supply, said: ‘The partnership between the RNLI and INEOS Automotive aligns perfectly with INEOS's ‘Built for More’ ethos given the lifesaving work conducted by the RNLI and our volunteers. As a charity which relies solely on donations, support such as this from INEOS Automative enables the RNLI to continue to save lives at sea, while also providing our operational volunteers with the best equipment available. Only by working in true partnership with industry can we sustain our lifesaving service in our 200th year and beyond.

Lynn Calder, CEO, INEOS Automotive, comments, “We’re very proud to support the RNLI, an incredible charity that performs round-the-clock life-saving work in very difficult conditions. Its volunteers rely on vehicles every day, both boats and cars, so this is a powerful endorsement of the Grenadier that it’s able to meet the rigorous standards required for such vital frontline work.”

As well as providing the RNLI with its Grenadier, the partnership will see INEOS support the charity to spread their vital water safety messages to new audiences. It also provides the opportunity to collaborate on future technology to sustain the RNLI’s lifesaving efforts now and into the future.