by Brad Anderson
- JLR confirms new Freelander SUV debuting soon as China-exclusive model.
- Revived nameplate launches under JLR’s new joint venture with Chery.
- Plug-in hybrid rides on Chery’s T1X platform used in Jaecoo and Omoda.
Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed that an all-new Freelander SUV designed for the Chinese market will make its debut in the coming months, marking the first model from the newly established standalone Freelander brand.
News of the revived compact SUV first surfaced in mid-2024, when the British automaker announced it would be produced through its joint venture with Chery.
Plug-In Pragmatism
What can we expect from the new model? It’s understood that it will be based on Chery’s existing T1X platform, which is currently used in various Jaecoo, Omoda, and Chery-branded vehicles. While many of the SUVs launching in China in recent years have been EVs, the Freelander’s debut model is believed to be a plug-in hybrid.
Read: Land Rover Reboots Freelander Name As Standalone Brand For China
According to JLR China president Qing Pan, the new model will “echo the original spirit of Freelander but bring it up to date to appeal to discerning, technologically savvy Chinese consumers.”
Familiar Shape Or Fresh Identity?
Land Rover has teased the new spinoff’s nameplate several times, but not the SUV itself.
It’s still too soon to say what shape the new Freelander will take. As previously reported, it’s set to become a sub-brand within Land Rover’s portfolio, with both Chery and JLR’s design studios collaborating on its development to define its visual identity.
If the British brand wants it to look like a true Land Rover, it’d be wise to make it share an obvious resemblance to its existing models. Or, if it decides to take the same route as AUDI in China, it could make it look very different than JLR models sold in Western markets.
Production of the new Freelander will be handled by the Chery Jaguar Land Rover (CJLR) plant in Changshu. This site currently builds the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque, among others, but production of those models will cease at the end of this year, reports Autocar.
JLR has noted that the new Freelander will “initially” be sold in China, indicating that it could be made available elsewhere after its local launch.
The company has also confirmed that the new Freelander will be sold through its own network of dedicated dealerships operated by Chery.
Land Rover introduced the original Freelander back in 1997 and followed it up with a second generation in 2006, which remained in production until 2015. A successor could prove hugely important for the brand.
JLR Production Resumes
In addition to confirming that work on the new Freelander is continuing, JLR said that its production has now returned to levels prior to the cyber attack that shut down its operations for several weeks. The company’s revenue for the second quarter was down 24 percent to £4.9 billion, and through the first half was down 16 percent to £11.5 billion.
