Chery plans to launch several new Freelander models in coming years. The Freelander 8 will debut with a 1.5-liter range-extender setup. UK sales likely would not happen through existing JLR dealership sites. A revived nameplate built in China with a British badge of approval is the sort of thing that used to give product planners ulcers. Jaguar Land Rover appears entirely relaxed about it. Models from the resurrected Freelander brand could be heading to Europe and the UK, and JLR does not see them as a threat to its own showrooms. The Freelander name has been brought back from the dead by Chinese automaker Chery, in partnership with JLR. Its first model, the Freelander 8, was unveiled at the recent Beijing Auto Show and will be followed by a range of other models over the coming years. Read: The Freelander 8 Is Now A Real SUV, And It’s Bigger Than A Defender 110 Initially, sales will be confined to China, but Chery has every intention of taking the brand overseas. According to Freelander boss Wen Fei, those export models won’t be simple copies of the Chinese-market cars. Distinct derivatives will be developed to suit the demands of each region. JLR chief executive PB Balaji, for his part, is happy to let Chery “make up their mind” on whether to sell these cars in the UK, and does not see them as a threat to existing JLR products. JLR Hands Chery The Keys “The car will be sold primarily in China to begin with, and then they will have to decide their plans for bringing it out to the rest of the world,” he told Autocar, “and from our perspective, our role is ensuring that the design is in sync with what JLR stands for, and thereafter it is completely their baby. We see it as ‘together we should be expanding the market’. So let them make up their mind as to how they want to play the game.” Jaguar Land Rover’s openness to see the new Freelander brand launch in the UK and Europe comes shortly after more photos and details of the 8 emerged out of China. Data confirms it is up to 5,185 mm (204.1 inches) long, 2,050 mm (80.7 inches) wide, and stands 1,898 mm (74.7 inches) tall, with a generous 3,040 mm (119.6 inches) wheelbase. Underpinning the Freelander 8 is Chery’s iMax architecture that supports battery-electric, range-extender, and plug-in hybrid options. The SUV has initially been confirmed to launch in EREV guise, using a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine. Power and torque outputs have yet to be confirmed, nor has the model’s all-electric driving range. The tech list reads like a Chinese-market spec sheet should in 2026. LiDAR is standard, Huawei’s Qianwu Intelligent Driving ADS 4.1 handles the assisted-driving duties, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8397 sits at the heart of the electronics. The rest of the picture fills in over the next few months.
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