Deliveries of the new Chinese-built and managed Freelander 8 have started in the country this week. 

The Freelander brand is a new joint initiative between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover, albeit with the design input of the British carmaker and the resources and infrastructure of Chery driving the new marque. 

The car is intended to channel the spirit of the 1997 original Freelander SUV, although the new model is a much larger seven-seat concept. 

​Freelander has ambitious plans to launch a brace of new cars in the coming years, however, and plans to sell them in the UK as well. 

The company reported that it had secured 5,000 firm orders within 12 hours of launching sales officially at the beginning of September, and passed 10,000 orders within the first two days. 

The lucky customers who got their deposits down for the new SUV can look forward to receiving their car shortly. 

The price in China starts from 289,900 yuan (£32,300) for the cheapest version, though there’s a 449,990 yuan (£50,100) limited run First Edition model that only 1,000 people will be able to get their hands on. 

The new Freelander 8 has front, centre and rear locking differentials, so it should still have some off-road chops. The interior is far plusher than any 1997 Freelander owners would remember, though. 

There’s a 15.6in central touchscreen in the centre of the dash, but the attention grabber is the 46.3in panoramic display that spans the base of the windscreen. 

The Freelander 8 isn’t a full EV, but rather features a 60.3kWh LFP battery with a 1.5-litre petrol engine as a range extender. It has a 193-mile electric range (310km) on the Chinese CLTC procedure.