Chery Jaguar Land Rover, a Chinese-based joint venture between local automaker Chery Automobile and the Jaguar Land Rover subsidiary of India’s Tata Motors, has launched the first model under its new Freelander brand at a pre-sale event in Changshu, Jiangsu province.
The Freelander brand revives the discontinued nameplate of Land Rover’s entry-level compact SUV produced in the UK between 1997 and 2015. It has been reintroduced as a standalone sub-brand of the Chery Jaguar Land Rover joint venture.
Pre-sales of the Freelander 8 extended range electric vehicle (EREV) began on 14 August, with the price for the five-seater model starting at CNY 339,900 (US$ 50,430), rising to CNY 429,900 (US$63,780) for the top spec six-seater model.
Test vehicles have also arrived in the Middle East for local road testing, marking the next step toward the brand's international market debut in Abu Dhabi this September.
The Freelander 8, based on the Chery E0X 800-volt platform, is powered by a 1.5-litre range extender engine and a 60-kilowatt-hour CATL battery pack. Its dual electric motors deliver a maximum power output of 818 hp. In pure BEV mode, the batteries provide a range of 310 km.
The model features Huawei’s ADS 5 driver assistance system and connected technologies powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The vehicle features i-ATS, an intelligent all-terrain system that automatically adjusts the suspension settings according to different driving conditions.
The Freelander 8 is produced at the joint venture’s 200,000 unit/year highly automated plant in Changshu, following CNY 3 billion of upgrades. The facility serves as the main production base of the Freelander range, which is expected to be expanded to six models in the next five years, including BEVs, PHEVs and EREVs.
The upgraded facility features more than 1,100 robots, a fully automated body shop and end-to-end digital quality traceability systems, enabling high levels of manufacturing precision and consistent product quality, the JV says.
