JLR partners with Chery to create a new premium 4×4 brand – and Europe sales are confirmed
The new Freelander brand has revealed its debut model in China as a rugged electrified 4×4, created in partnership between JLR and local giant Chery – and confirmed plans for a rapid-fire expansion into other global markets, including Europe.
The first model from the new marque – a sibling to Chery’s existing Omoda, Jaecoo, iCar and eponymous Chery brands – is a mid-sized off-road family SUV based on a new 800-volt architecture which can accommodate pure-electric, range-extender and plug-in hybrid drivetrains.
It will be the first in a wave of new Freelander models destined for global sale, with the brand announcing plans to introduce a new model every six months over the next five years. Each will be offered with the choice of pure-EV, REx or PHEV power.
Revealed at a dedicated event in Beijing ahead of its public debut at the city’s international motor show next week, the Freelander will replace the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque at JLR-Chery’s Chinese factory in Changsu, which earlier today (31 March) built the final combustion-powered Evoque.
It has been designed and engineered initially for the local market, but the company has confirmed that variants for export to other countries are in development, as part of a strategy to disrupt the global premium SUV market.
Freelander CEO Wei Lan confirmed: “International variants are currently in intensive development and shall, after launch in China, make their distinguished entry into the world’s foremost markets”.
Confirming that Freelander prototypes have undergone extensive testing in Europe, and that the car has been engineered to be compliant with Euro NCAP rules, he emphasised that exported Freelander models will not be merely adapted versions of the China-market cars, but rather highly bespoke derivatives that are closely tailored to individual market demands.
“A truly global vehicle is not engineered through adapation,” he said, “but grown from the very roots of a world-class R&D system.”
He added: “From its very first day of existence, every Freelander product is conceived and calibrated for the diverse demands of markets across the world. We are not exporting a Chinese car to the world, but we are building a world car, for the world, from the very beginning.”
This story is being updated.
