- The revived Freelander brand from Chery and Jaguar Land Rover released official images of its first production model, officially named the Freelander 8.
- The luxury all-terrain SUV will feature Huawei's autonomous driving technology to target the fiercely competitive EV market.
Freelander, the revived electric vehicle (EV) brand under a joint venture between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover, has released official images of its first production model, officially named the Freelander 8.
The brand announced the name on Weibo on Monday, sharing the first two official images of the Freelander 8 that showcase the vehicle's exterior silhouette.
Officially positioned as a luxury, tech-focused all-terrain SUV, the model is expected to make its debut in the Chinese market in the second half of this year.
The new car is developed on the new iMax platform architecture, an underlying technology designed to simultaneously support battery-electric, range-extended, and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
The exterior design of the Freelander 8 largely continues the styling of the previously unveiled Concept 97, retaining a boxy shape to highlight its rugged appeal.
The Chinese team led the new vehicle's product definition and smart-technology development, while the Jaguar Land Rover team focused primarily on design aesthetics and preserving the brand's luxury heritage.
The new vehicle is equipped with an all-terrain-specific battery co-developed with CATL. The battery features a peak charging multiplier of 6C and a rated peak charging power of 350 kilowatts.
The all-terrain SUV's smart driving system received deep technical support from Huawei, and the entire lineup will come standard with Huawei's Qiankun ADS 5.0 system.
The Freelander 8 will also be among the world's first production models to feature Huawei's 896-channel LiDAR, a powerful hardware configuration aimed at significantly enhancing its autonomous driving capabilities.
The model will be among the first globally to be powered by Qualcomm's latest-generation Snapdragon 8397 automotive-grade chip, which offers a threefold increase in processor computing power compared to the previous generation.
Originally a classic model line under Jaguar Land Rover, Freelander was officially upgraded into an independent brand dedicated to new energy vehicles (NEVs) by the joint venture on March 31.
The brand plans to intensively launch six new EV models in China and global markets over the next five years.
