Once Freelander served as an entry ticket to the world of British SUVs, and now it becomes an independent player in the electrified vehicle market. The joint venture Chery Jaguar Land Rover (CJLR) has officially confirmed that the world debut of the first model under the new-old brand will take place on March 31.
The new Freelander is positioned as a "global intelligent brand" that will stand apart from both the premium Jaguar Land Rover families and the existing Chery lineups. The project's mission is to combine the technological base of the Chinese giant with British heritage and legendary off-road capabilities. In the company's official statement it is noted that the name Freelander was chosen because of its colossal success in the past: since 1997, the model was the best-selling SUV in Europe for five consecutive years.
British style and Chinese platform
The brand's debut product will be a large 6-seater crossover with a plug-in hybrid powertrain (PHEV). The first teasers and spy photos reveal a massive, "square" silhouette. The front end received rectangular headlights with pixelated LED optics.
The crossover is based on the Chery E0X platform. It is a modern architecture designed for pure electric vehicles and hybrids with a long range. It is expected that the powertrain will combine a 1.5-liter turbo engine and a system of three electric motors. In the future, the brand plans to expand the range with versions featuring a range extender (EREV) and fully electric modifications.
What the new Freelander might look like. Source: Autocar
Investments and intelligent content
To launch Freelander, the CJLR enterprise invested 3 billion yuan - roughly $415 million. The funds were directed towards a complete modernization of the plant in Changshu, with automated production lines deployed for manufacturing vehicles on new energy sources (NEV). Moreover, the brand received its own management and development structure.
The car's interior promises to be top-notch. According to preliminary data, Freelander will receive:
- the latest generation Huawei Qiankun intelligent driving system
- traction batteries produced by CATL
- a multimedia system based on Qualcomm Snapdragon chips
Prototype of the new Freelander. Photo: CarNewsChina
Geography and market prospects
Although production is concentrated in China, Freelander has global ambitions. The brand's design centers are located in Gaydon, UK, and Shanghai, while the research institute operates in Suzhou. Such a sprawling network is expected to ensure a balance between European comfort standards and Chinese innovation implementation speed.
To date, the brand has already signed agreements with more than 60 dealership centers in 50 cities. Whether the new Freelander will appear in Europe is a matter of time, but considering the history of the name and the involvement of British engineers, such a step seems more than logical.
