The first model in JLR’s new Freelander range will be a tech-led, electrified, full-size SUV that will be launched in the second half of 2026, JLR’s head of China has said.
JLR showed the logo for the revived Freelander brand in a recent presentation to investors, when it explained how the company is resetting its China business with joint venture partner Chery.
Chery is developing the Freelander electrified range using an in-house “flexible” platform, JLR China head Qing Pan told investors. JLR, meanwhile, is responsible for the design of the new cars.
Autocar has learned that the platform will be Chery’s T1X, which is also used by the company’s Jaecoo, Omoda and Chery brands. The first model is set to be a plug-in hybrid with a design that blends chunky off-road visual cues with a Porsche Macan-style coupé shape.
The first car will “echo the original spirit of Freelander but brought up to date to appeal to discerning, technologically savvy Chinese consumers,” said Qing.
The Freelander range will be launched first in China, with the “potential for global expansion”, according to Qing.
The Freelander will give JLR’s joint venture a replacement for China-built models, including the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque, which are ending production this year.
The Freelander will sit in different market segment from JLR’s imported high-end models in the country, such as the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Defender.
JLR has said the Freelander will be sold in a network of its own dedicated Chery-run dealerships. Freelander does not come under the company’s luxury-focused ‘House of Brands’ marketing and sales strategy, which effectively splits Jaguar, Defender, Discovery and Range Rover into as stand-alone brands.
However, in the UK and mainland Europe, a Chinese-built Freelander could cannibalise sales of the cheaper models on JLR’s new electric EMA platform, such as the upcoming replacements for the Evoque and Discovery Sport. That would make the business case for selling a Freelander in those markets harder to justify.
The Land Rover Freelander was originally launched in 1997 in three-door and five-door forms. It was the first Land Rover with a monocoque platform and “pioneered the compact premium SUV”, said Qing. The Freelander lasted for two generations before it was replaced by the Discovery Sport in 2015.
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