The Freelander is back as a big, plug-in hybrid SUV from a joint venture between JLR and Chinese car maker Chery (Steve Fowler)
The famous Freelander name, synonymous with two generations of British-built Land Rover 4x4s made between 1997 and 2015, is being revived by JLR’s Chinese partner Chery – with more than a little help from the Indian-owned British firm.
Chery has had a joint venture in China with JLR since 2012, building Range Rover Evoques, Discovery Sports and various Jaguar models. Now the Chinese-British joint venture will be reviving the Freelander name with a range of six models set to arrive before the end of the decade, and repositioning as a “British premium intelligent all-terrain brand”.
The new Freelander has been designed by JLR, but is being engineered and built by Chery (Steve Fowler)
At the launch event in Chery’s home city of Wuhu, Freelander International CEO Lucia Mao introduced the new brand, describing Freelander’s mission as “reshaping British heritage through intelligent innovation, for boundless journeys on any terrain, in every moment”. The brand’s vision is said to “become a global, leading premium new energy brand”.
The first new Freelander model to be launched – initially into Middle East markets – will be the Freelander 8, a 5.1-meter-long plug-in hybrid SUV with clear Land Rover design cues. That’s not surprising, since the design work has been done by the JLR design team, led by Briton Philip Simmons.
The bold, upright front end has hints of the current Defender and other Land Rover models, especially with the interlocking front headlights – set to be a family feature. Similarly, the rear three-quarter view hints at the style of the original Freelander 3-door model with its triangular side window and is likely to feature on other cars. That same design feature is part of the new Freelander logo, too.
The triangular rear window on the new Freelander is a nod to the 1997 original (Steve Fowler)
There are clear Chinese influences on the design – it’s fussier in places and features more plastic add-ons than you might expect from a true Land Rover model – and that’s clear on the inside, too. As well as a sizeable central touchscreen, there’s a full-width digital bar across the dash, similar to BMW’s new Panoramic iDrive system, housing information for both the driver and passenger.
While the design work has been done by Simmons and his team at JLR, the car has been engineered by Chery and will be built by Chery at its factory in China. However, talking to The Independent, Freelander International CEO Lucia Mao said: “We will build it in three international versions: left-hand drive, right-hand drive and for the European market.” Although Mao wouldn’t be drawn on the likelihood of cars coming to the UK, it’s widely expected that the car will make it to its spiritual homeland, with UK dealers at the launch event expressing an interest in selling the car.
Chery is staying true to the Freelander’s 4×4 roots with what it describes as ‘the world’s first intelligent all-terrain system’ – although Land Rover, with its automatic Terrain Response tech, might have something to say about that. The Freelander gets nine terrain modes, a virtual centre differential lock and rear electronic limited slip differential, plus dual chamber air suspension.
Other technologies will also play a role, with the Freelander 8 promising Level Two Plus ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and self-driving through a system called Advanced Valet Parking Driver.
Few other details of the Freelander 8 were available, other than a Chery insider telling us that the plug-in hybrid system uses a 2-litre petrol engine and it was a range extender hybrid – part of Chery’s new energy powertrain line-up. A range extender (EREV) model uses the petrol engine as a generator to charge up a battery, which then drives the car’s motors.
The Freelander interior features a full-width digital screen like BMW’s Panoramic iDrive (Steve Fowler)
However, Chery did confirm that over 1,000 vehicles will be on the road testing around the world, including Northern Europe and Australia, which could become another right-hand drive market for Freelander.
As well as the Freelander 8, the new brand gave us an exclusive preview of another, slightly smaller (4.9-meter) Freelander model with very much the same styling and likely to use the same technology underneath. And from a graphic flashed on screen during the presentation, the other four Freelander models are all expected to be SUVs of some sort.
Where Freelander models were once built at JLR’s Solihull and Halewood factories, the new cars will be built at the Chery JLR manufacturing base at Changshu in China. Chery has apparently invested over $1.5 billion (£1.11 billion) in the plant in total, with $440 million of upgrades, including thousands of intelligent robots, to build the new car.