WUHU, China: CHERY Automobile Co Ltd added a new brand under its wings called Freelander and if you’re thinking Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), you are not entirely wrong.
Chery has a joint venture with JLR since 2012 to produce Jaguar and Land Rovers for sale in China.
This joint venture has now led to the development of a new Chery brand – Freelander – that combines the synergy between the two companies.
It’s a redevelopment of an existing model within the JLR range, the entry-level Freelander that uses the Chery powertrain.
This has seen to the Freelander 8 that no longer serves an entry-level model role but is expanded in body dimensions to rival JLR’s Range Rover flagship.
The joint venture involves a US$3.1bil (RM12.6bil) investment that includes an intelligent manufacturing base with 1,100 robots, 100% automated welding and top-tier global suppliers.
Prototypes have already been presented in a few countries, including the Middle East, Latin America and Europe, to gauge response and gain feedback.
Its extended body design continues to be undertaken by Phil Collins, director of the Freelander Design Hub, who was involved with the Freelander when it was first launched in 1997.
Naturally, it would include design elements that would identify it as a Freelander such as the debossed Freelander badging on the rear tailgate, the iconic triangular rear quarter window and distinctive nose styling with signature interlocking LED (light emitting diode) headlamps that’s restyled for the Freelander 8.
At 5,118mm in body length, 2,050mm width, 1,926mm height and a 3,040mm wheelbase, the Freelander 8 is definitely in Range Rover territory.
For power, it has Chery’s 2.0T Dedicated Hybrid Engine with 45.95% thermal efficiency and 14:1 compression ratio.
It is combined with a 34.12kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate battery that enables 20%-80% DC charging in less than 20 minutes and has more than 110km electric range and a combined range of more than 886km.
The combined power output is rated at 460kW (625hp) and 662Nm with a 0-100kph acceleration performance of 5.8 seconds.
To live up to its background, the Freelander 8 comes with dual-chamber air suspension and continuously controlled damping.
It has adjustable ride height (70mm increase and 50mm decrease) and 266mm ground clearance.
The Freelander 8’s offroad prowess is supported by its 70% gradient climbing and maximum 900mm wading depth capability.
We were given an impression of these Freelander 9’s performance quality at a dedicated area as passengers.
Needless to say, the Freelander 8 passed the respective test as well as its four-wheel drive capability over uneven surfaces.
This is because as an all-wheel drive (AWD) vehicle, it has a nine i-ATS mode with seven for tackling different terrain, one “smart” mode and one expert mode.
Chery, however, allowed us to gauge the Freelander 8’s ABS (anti-lock braking) performance and dynamic handling quality as drivers.
For the double slalom section, we took the Freelander 8 through at close to 40kph and though the body lean was there, it was nicely controlled.
There were some who pushed the Freelander 8 through this section at higher speeds and we could see that the body roll remained within expectations though the tyres were squealing.
Chery says the Freelander 8 would have its first global launch in the United Arab Emirates in the first quarter of 2027 before being rolled out progressively in other countries.
It is possible that the Freelander 8 would arrive on Malaysian shores, maybe in late 2027 or early 2028, though at this point in time, the mechanics of the Chery-JLR joint venture might need to be fully understood in determining the distributorship.
Given the fact that the Freelander 8 is built at a Chery production facility, we believe it would be launched under the Chery umbrella as is being done in the UAE and the other countries.
