The reborn Freelander brand, which revives the famous nameplate for a new family of Chinese-made models, will arrive in the UK before the end of the decade – and the first will be a chunky but rakish crossover designed by JLR chief creative officer Gerry McGovern.
The new brand is the result of a tie-up between JLR and its long-term manufacturing partner in China, Chery, which will engineer the cars using its own electrified platforms. Announcing the Freelander’s return in June last year, JLR said the Chery collaboration creates “mutually beneficial prospects for the future”.
Production of the debut crossover model will begin in late 2026, appearing first in China before global exports begin. It will be sold initially with a plug-in hybrid powertrain but EV and range-extender (REx) versions will follow.
Although it will be built by Chery in Changshu – where the car maker already produces local-market Range Rover Evoques and Discovery Sports – the styling of the cars will be overseen by McGovern, the man behind the original Freelander designs.
Autocar understands the first model will blend the rakishness of high-riding performance coupés like the Porsche Macan with chunky off-road design cues. It is believed that the intention is to make the car stand out in an ever more crowded SUV market by using the aesthetic of an off-roader on a more streamlined shape.
By giving the car a younger, more confident silhouette, Chery can better differentiate the Freelander from JLR’s own incoming Defender Sport model (pictured below), which will shrink the blocky shape of the bigger car for a wider audience when it arrives around 2027.
The Freelander will be underpinned by Chery’s T1X platform, which is used by a range of Chery brands, including recent UK arrivals Omoda and Jaecoo (the 7 pictured below).
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When i was a lad in the late 60's, I remember new showrooms springing up when the Japanese brands started to catch on - Toyota, Datsun, Colt, Mazda. The cars were relatively popular, you'd see them everywhere. But is there room in the market for the seemingly constant influx of Chinese cars to our shores today?
I'm now confused as hell, because every other month I hear of a new manufacturer. Just yesterday I passed a dealership who were removing their used stock to make way for Haval. Haval Jolion Pro to be precise. WTF. Adding to the confusion, it looked no different to many other Chinese brands, in fact, it looked little different than products being displyed from the many of the more established garages surrounding it.
And now to add to the confusion there's something which has links to JLR? A freelander which isn't a JLR freelander but was designed by the guy who also designed the JLR Freelander. Talk about a Chinese puzzle !
I reckon that in 10 years time, our car market is going to look very different because so manufacturers basically selling the same car, can't possibly survive.
Manufacturers have been selling basically the same car for years, VW Golf/Audi A3/SEAT Leon/Skoda Octavia etc for example. Most people dont care.
There does seem to be far too many brands selling far too many very similar cars and not enough variety though, it will be interesting to see what brands succeed and what ones fail.
This will surely confuse the market. With the Freelander name and chunky off road styling people will assume it is a JLR product despite its being sold byseparate dealerships. I am surprised that JLR has allowed this given the likely competition with its own probably much more expensive products.
Before you lose all remaining credibility, please stop describing something like the Macan as a 'high riding performance coupe'.
The manufacturers may talk nonsense - with JLR as bad as any - but Autocar should not.