A new small multi-powered Land Rover Freelander has been shown in China, and it would prove a worthwhile addition to the UK range at some future point.
Chery Jaguar Land Rover, a Chinese-based joint venture between local automaker Chery Automobile and the Jaguar Land Rover subsidiary of India’s Tata Motors, has launched the first model under its new Freelander brand in Changshu, Jiangsu province.
The Freelander was produced in the UK between 1997 and 2015 but has been reborn as a standalone sub-brand of the Chery Jaguar Land Rover joint venture.
There have been five and six seater examples with a choice of hybrid or electric power shown to potential customers and pre-production models have been sent to the Middle East for desert testing and international debut in the Autumn
Pre-sales of the Freelander 8 extended range electric vehicle (EREV) began on 14 August, with the price for the five-seater model starting at CNY 339,900 (US$ 50,430), rising to CNY 429,900 (US$63,780) for the top spec six-seater model.
Test vehicles have also arrived in the Middle East for local road testing, marking the next step toward the brand’s international market debut in Abu Dhabi this September.
The Freelander 8 is produced at the joint venture’s 200,000 unit/year highly automated plant in Changshu, following CNY 3 billion of upgrades. The facility serves as the main production base of the Freelander range, which is expected to be expanded to six models in the next five years, including BEVs, PHEVs and EREVs.
