// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Freelander 8 say to its friend? "Land" a job with me.
| Freelander 8 | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Chery Jaguar Land Rover |
| Model code | E0V |
| Production | July 2026 – present[1] |
| Assembly | China: Changshu (Chery Jaguar Land Rover) |
| Designer | Gerry McGovern |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Full-size SUV |
| Body style | 5-door SUV |
| Layout | |
| Platform | Chery E0X Platform |
| Chassis | Unibody |
| Related | |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1.5 L SQRH4J15 turbo I4 |
| Electric motor | 2× permanent magnet synchronous |
| Power output | 610 kW (829 PS; 818 hp) |
| Transmission |
|
| Hybrid drivetrain | Series (range extender) |
| Battery | 60.331 kWh Freevoy NMC CATL |
| Electric range |
|
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 3,040 mm (119.7 in) |
| Length | 5,118 mm (201.5 in) |
| Width | 2,050 mm (80.7 in) |
| Height | 1,898 mm (74.7 in) |
| Kerb weight | 2,980 kg (6,570 lb) |
The Freelander 8 (Chinese: 神行者8; pinyin: Shénxíngzhě 8; lit. 'God traveler 8') is a full-size SUV, it will be the first vehicle sold under the Freelander marque. It is developed by Chery and produced at the Chery Jaguar Land Rover plant in Changshu. It is available with battery electric, range-extended, and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
History
[edit]On 19 June 2024, Jaguar Land Rover partnered with Chery to build new vehicles on the latter's E0X platform under the Freelander brand. Prior to this announcement JLR had said it would use the E0X and M3X platforms for plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles. A letter of intent for building vehicles under the Freelander brand was signed on the same day.[3]
The Freelander 8 was originally developed for Chery's Exeed marque under the codename E0V. An early design was revealed on November 12, 2024, before the project was transferred to the Freelander brand.[4]
On 29 April 2025, it was revealed that a trademark for Freelander was filed in Australia.[5] On 14 May 2025, it was confirmed that it would arrive as a plug-in hybrid initially and that it would be styled by Gerry McGovern, then-chief creative officer of Jaguar Land Rover.[6]
The first spyshots of the Freelander 8 were released on 1 August 2025, when a prototype was spotted testing in Suzhou.[7] By November 2025, 150 Freelander 8 prototypes were built by JLR and Chery.[8]
On 21 January 2026, it was confirmed that the brand would first launch in the Middle East due to a shift in the Freelander marque's strategy.[9] On 24 March 2026, it was announced that the Freelander brand would be revealed in Shanghai on 31 March.[10] The Freelander 8 was accidentally unveiled via crash test photos on 26 March 2026.[11] Official teasers for the Freelander Concept 97 were shown on the same day that the reveal date was announced.[12]
The Freelander Concept 97 was unveiled on 31 March 2026, alongside the Freelander marque itself. The Concept 97 serves as a preview of the Freelander 8, featuring a design influenced by the original Land Rover Freelander. Its hood, grille, and skid plate are finished in aluminium.[13]
On 25 April 2026, the production version was unveiled as the Freelander 8.[14]
Overview
[edit]The Freelander 8 serves as the first model of the Freelander marque. It is a full-size SUV.[4]
- Rear view
- Interior
Design
[edit]The exterior design of the Freelander 8 is largely carried over from the Concept 97. It features an inclined D-pillar that was also used for the 3-door version of the original Freelander. That design element, combined with the triangular quarter window, serves as the basis for the Freelander logo design. It also takes inspiration from the structures of the letters F and L.[15] The black trim on the front end and the headlights were influenced by the Freelander's 2003 facelift.[16] Five regular exterior options are available. The First Edition, which is exclusively available at launch, features three exclusive paint options, including a "Flowing Silver" matte paint with a nano-ceramic varnish.[17][18]
Interior
[edit]The Freelander 8's interior features a cinematic "Human-Machine Interface" (HMI), consisting of a 46.3 inch "Panoramic Intelligent Display" and a 15.6-inch Mini-LED central infotainment touchscreen.[19][20] The former has a width of 1.2 m (47 in), an 8K resolution and a peak brightness of 1000 nits. Below the central display, there are a row of physical buttons crafted using a "Clous de Paris" technique, as well as dual K9-grade optical crystal dials with 144 facets each. It is also equipped with 256-color dual aperture ambient lighting, a 23-speaker Harman Kardon sound system with a 7.1.4-channel layout, dual-layer acoustic glass and active noise cancellation.
Either a 2-row five seat or 3-row six seat configuration is available.[21][22] In the case of the latter, the second row consists of two individual zero-gravity seats with a four-way adjustable legrest, heating, ventilation and 16-point massage. Specifically, the second-row seat on the passenger side can recline up to 145 degrees. Meanwhile, the third row is also heated and ventilated, and features a 1.15 metres (45 in) wide sunroof known as the Skylight Corridor. All models offer front seat-back tray tables, a 10 litres (610 cu in) refrigerator operating between −6 °C (21 °F) and 50 °C (122 °F), as well as a ceiling mounted rear entertainment display.[23][24]
Features
[edit]The Freelander 8 uses a roof-mounted LiDAR sensor at the front and a solid-state LiDAR at the rear. The Freelander will come with Huawei's Qiankun advanced driver-assistance system and an 896-line LiDAR system. Its architecture utilizes the i-ATS (intelligent all terrain system) tuned with software assets from Huawei. Traction is regulated through a mechanical differential lock at the front, an electronic rear limited-slip differential and a virtual centre differential lock. A closed dual-chamber air suspension system regulates damping and ground clearance. All vehicle technologies are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8397 chipset.[25][26]
Powertrain
[edit]The Freelander 8 was launched exclusively as a range-extender electric vehicle. It uses a Chery 1.5-litre turbocharged inline-4 in Miller cycle which outputs 141 hp (105 kW; 143 PS) (154 hp (115 kW; 156 PS) gross power) and 220 N⋅m (162 lb⋅ft) of torque and is not mechanically connected to the wheels; it has a peak thermal efficiency of 45.79%. It is driven by a 483 hp (360 kW; 490 PS) front motor and a 335 hp (250 kW; 340 PS) rear motor, which has a 2-speed transmission with the low gear acting as a low range gear to achieve a maximum wheel torque of 8,000 N⋅m (5,900 lb⋅ft), for a total of 818 hp (610 kW; 829 PS).
It is powered by a 60.331 kWh NMC Freevoy (Xiaoyao) battery pack supplied by CATL, providing 221 kilometres (137 mi) and 310 kilometres (193 mi) of WLTP and CLTC electric range respectively. It supports a peak charging rate of 6C and 350 kW, charging from 20–80% in 12 minutes with the help of its 800-volt architecture.[25][27][28]
| Battery | Motor | Power | Torque | Electric range | 0–100 km/h (62 mph) |
Top speed | Kerb weight | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Weight | Front | Rear | Front | Rear | Total | Front | Rear | Total | WLTP | CLTC | |||
| 60.331 kWh NMC CATL | 372 kg (820 lb) |
TZ18XYA0 PMSM | YD60TZ22A0 PMSM | 483 hp (360 kW; 490 PS) |
335 hp (250 kW; 340 PS) |
818 hp (610 kW; 829 PS) |
338 N⋅m (249 lb⋅ft) |
475 N⋅m (350 lb⋅ft) |
813 N⋅m (600 lb⋅ft) |
221 km (137 mi) |
310 km (193 mi) |
4.6 s | 220 km/h (137 mph) |
2,980 kg (6,570 lb) |
Sales
[edit]The Freelander 8 received over 10,000 pre-orders within 48 hours of pre-sales opening on 14 August 2026.[27] Within 12 hours of its launch on 3 September 2026, the Freelander 8 received over 5,000 locked-in pre-orders.[30]
References
[edit]- ↑ "奇瑞捷豹路虎 FREELANDER 神行者 8 首台量产车正式下线:标配华为乾崑智驾,8 月 10 日开启预售". IT之家 (in Chinese). Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ Bobylev, Denis (30 July 2026). "Freelander 8 EREV SUV rolled off the production line in China". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ Bobylev, Denis (19 June 2024). "Jaguar Land Rover and Chery will build Freelander-branded EVs on Chinese platforms". CarNewsChina.
- 1 2 Bobylev, Denis (12 November 2024). "First Freelander car from Chery & Land Rover is a three-row 5.1-meter SUV". CarNewsChina.
- ↑ Zachariah, Ben (29 April 2025). "Land Rover's Freelander Spun-Off as Chinese Brand". CarSauce.
- ↑ "Freelander due UK return as electrified 4x4 with JLR design". Autocar. 14 May 2025.
- ↑ Sagathevan, Kumeran (1 August 2025). "Freelander Returns As Chery and Land Rover's New EV SUV". Carz Automedia Malaysia.
- ↑ Sharmma, Shivani (19 November 2025). "Freelander SUV Set For A Big Comeback As JLR Confirms Electric Plan For Every Brand By 2030 - Details Inside". TimesDrive.
- ↑ Bobylev, Denis (21 January 2026). "JLR and Chery to launch Freelander brand in the Middle East this year as strategy shifts". CarNewsChina.
- ↑ "Freelander set to launch in Shanghai on March 31 as Chery-JLR brand goes global". GlobalChinaEV. 24 March 2026.
- ↑ Liu, Miao (26 March 2026). "Chery-Jaguar Land Rover's global model Freelander SUV spotted in leaked crash test photos". CarNewsChina.
- ↑ Agatie, Cristian (24 March 2026). "The Freelander Returns as Six-Seater Electric SUV From Chery-JLR, Full Reveal on March 31st". Autoevolution.
- ↑ Page, Felix (31 March 2026). "New 2026 Freelander revealed as rugged electric off-roader". Autocar.
- ↑ "Freelander 8 revealed: Chery-JLR brand confirms global SUV launch with Australian testing". Carexpert. 25 April 2026.
- ↑ "神行者发布全新独立LOGO_新浪新闻". www.sina.cn. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ Pappas, Thanos (31 March 2026). "Land Rover Let The Freelander Go. China Brought It Back As An Electrified SUV". Carscoops.
- ↑ Miao, Liu (15 June 2026). "Freelander 8 by Chery and Jaguar Land Rover joint venture has its official photos revealed". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ Miao, Liu (2 July 2026). "Chery and Jaguar Land Rover collaborated Freelander 8 reveals five new exterior colours". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ Leung, Adrian (26 July 2026). "Freelander 8 interior preview goes beyond 46-inch display with Snapdragon 8397 ahead of August launch". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
- ↑ Bobylev, Denis (13 July 2026). "Freelander 8 SUV boasts cinema-like infotainment ahead of launch". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ Bobylev, Denis (3 September 2026). "Freelander 8 started sales in China at 46,120 USD and set a Guinness Record". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ Kang, Lei (3 September 2026). "Chery-JLR launches Freelander 8 in China below pre-sales price, targeting luxury EREV SUV market". CnEVPost. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ Leung, Adrian (20 July 2026). "Freelander 8 reveals six-seat cabin with zero-gravity seats and 46.3-inch screen before launch". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ Miao, Liu (23 July 2026). "Chery and Jaguar Land Rover's Freelander 8 reveals second-row details". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- 1 2 Leung, Adrian (27 April 2026). "Chery–JLR Freelander 8 unvailed with Huawei ADS 5 and CATL 6C charging". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- ↑ Leung, Adrian (18 June 2026). "Freelander 8 First Edition: Chery and JLR debut with 221 km EREV range in China". CarNewsChina.com. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
- 1 2 Lu, Yuan (16 August 2026). 奇瑞捷豹路虎神行者 8 预售订单突破 1 万台,售价 33.99 万元起 [Chery Jaguar Land Rover Freelander 8 pre-orders exceed 10,000 units, starting at 339,900 yuan]. ITHome. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
- ↑ Qing, Yuan (14 August 2026). 奇瑞捷豹路虎 FREELANDER 神行者 8 开启预售,33.99 万-44.99 万元 [Chery Jaguar Land Rover Freelander 8 pre-sales begin, priced from 339,900 to 449,900 yuan]. ITHome. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
- ↑ "参数配置". 汽车之家 (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 19 August 2026.
- ↑ Hao, Miao (4 September 2026). 奇瑞捷豹路虎神行者 8 上市 12 小时大定突破 5000 台,28.99 万元起 [The Chery-Jaguar-Land Rover-Freelander 8 received over 5,000 pre-orders within 12 hours of its launch, starting at 289,900 yuan]. ITHome. Retrieved 5 September 2026.