The Freelander 8 rolled off the assembly line on July 30 at the Chery Jaguar Land Rover plant in Changshu, Jiangsu. Credit: Freelander
- The Freelander 8 rolled off the line at the Changshu plant as the first product of the revived Freelander brand.
- The extended-range all-terrain SUV is among the first models to feature Huawei’s quad-LiDAR setup and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8397 chip.
Freelander, the revived brand created by the joint venture between Chery (HKEX: 9973) and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), has rolled out its first production model, paving the way for a pre-sales launch next month.
The Freelander 8 rolled off the line on Thursday at the Chery Jaguar Land Rover plant in Changshu, Jiangsu province, and will begin its pre-sales on August 10.
Wen Fei, the brand’s global CEO, called it the first product to materialize under the 3.0 model of Sino-foreign joint ventures. All future Freelander models will be built at the plant.
In March, the last gasoline-powered Range Rover Evoque rolled off the same line. “The Freelander 8 takes over that mission and carries Chery Jaguar Land Rover into a new stage of luxury new energy vehicles,” Wen said.
To support the transition, the joint venture has invested an additional 3 billion yuan ($442 million) in the Changshu plant, mainly to upgrade production lines. The revamped facility has more than 1,100 robots and machining precision of 0.01 millimeters.
Positioned as a luxury tech all-terrain SUV, the Freelander 8 carries over the boxy silhouette of the Concept 97, with a closed-off front end and split rectangular headlights.
It measures 5,118 millimeters (5,185 millimeters optional) long, 2,050 millimeters wide and 1,898 millimeters tall, with a wheelbase of 3,040 millimeters. It uses a 2+2+2 six-seat layout.
The model is among the world’s first to feature Huawei’s quad-LiDAR setup and Qualcomm’s latest-generation Snapdragon 8397 automotive-grade chip. Huawei’s Qiankun ADS 5 system and an 800-volt platform are standard across the lineup.
Inside, there is a 46.3-inch 8K display and a 15.6-inch Mini LED center touchscreen. The second row gets dual zero-gravity aviation seats with heating, ventilation and massage.
For power, the SUV uses a 1.5T range extender with a maximum output of 115 kilowatts, paired with a 60.331-kWh ternary lithium battery from CATL (HKEX: 3750) for 221 kilometers of all-electric range.
Off-road hardware includes an i-ATS intelligent all-terrain system co-tuned with Huawei, a front mechanical differential lock, a rear e-LSD limited-slip differential and a virtual center lock, plus a closed dual-chamber air suspension.
The SUV also comes with three launch-exclusive paint colors in gold, purple and silver, designed by global design center director Phil Simmons.
Freelander was originally a classic model line under Jaguar Land Rover. It was elevated to a standalone brand focused on new energy vehicles (NEVs) on March 31 this year, and plans to roll out six new models over the next five years.
Each model is developed under a “1+3” approach, in which a China base version spawns international left-hand-drive, EU and right-hand-drive versions simultaneously, to cover more than 180 major auto markets worldwide.
The first overseas variant will be a left-hand-drive Middle East version, expected to launch between the end of this year and early next year.
The Freelander 8 features a 46.3-inch 8K screen and comes standard with Huawei’s Qiankun ADS 5 assisted-driving system.
($1 = 6.7892 yuan)
