Freelander, a joint venture between Jaguar Land Rover and Chery, unveiled its first production car during the Beijing Auto Show: this is the Freelander 8 SUV.
Arriving to ride the growing wave of new energy vehicles (NEVs) taking over the Chinese market, the Freelander 8 strongly resembles the original Land Rover Freelander in its design, with a rear pillar and headlights very similar to the first-generation three-door SUV.
The front grille is closed, a standard feature in electric cars. Meanwhile, it features a roof-mounted LiDAR sensor, something that has become common in vehicles built in China that include some level of driver assistance.
Overall, it is very similar to the Freelander Concept 97, which was revealed just a few weeks ago at the end of March. However, it is important to note that, based on images released by the brand on the social network Weibo, the car featured retractable door handles, similar to those recently banned by the Chinese government.
We don’t have many technical details about the car yet. We do know it will be quite long, measuring 5.1 meters in length, and will have three rows of seats. It will be powered by CATL batteries with support for 350 kW charging.
According to the website Motor1, it is believed to have air suspension and an electronic rear limited-slip differential. Although the interior has not yet been revealed, the concept featured a pillar-to-pillar screen and a central infotainment display, which have also become essential in vehicles produced for the Chinese market.
Despite this, the Freelander 8 will not be exclusive to China. JLR and Chery plan to launch the electrified SUV in other markets, including right-hand-drive ones. This is just the first of six models that will be launched over the next five years, all of them SUVs.
+ Woman arrested after using Tesla’s autopilot to sleep at the wheel on a U.S. highway
Photos: Freelander. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
