Jaguar Land Rover and Chery have launched a new ‘Freelander’ brand, which is the latest stage in the joint venture activities between the two companies in China, with production set to use Chery knowhow.

Freelander's a car, not a brand isn't it?

Everything's a brand these days, and clearly the Freelander badge is robust enough to support a range of mid-size electric SUVs. The new initiative is described as a “premium technology EV brand” and has ambitions to grow a family of cars under the Freelander name within the next five years. The brand will sit alongside other Chery badges like Omoda and Jaecoo, which are making modest inroads to the UK market.

Will the Freelanders be sold in the UK?

Not brand new – Chery and JLR first announced the plans back in 2024, though it was largely assumed at the time that the new brand would just operate within the Chinese market. With this latest announcement, Freelander has said that it plans to sell its new cars in “key global markets”, which could include the UK and Europe. Plans for this year involve opening 100 new dealerships across 60 cities in China.

The new company’s CEO, Wei Lan, told journalists that the cars were being developed primarily for China, but that they had also been tested extensively in Europe and were being developed to meet European safety regulations. 

Is it a British or a Chinese company?

It's essentially a Chinese effort, with Chery putting most of the effort in. Freelander’s global headquarters are in Shanghai, with research and manufacturing facilities elsewhere in China. Chery and JLR have already said that the new cars will use the EV tech and engineering underpinnings developed by Chery, so not much effort required from Jaguar Land Rover here, which will no doubt come as a relief. 

Land Rover might hope to import some of the cars to bolster its up to now rather paltry efforts to go electric – it has a brace of plug-in hybrid models on offer, but the much trailed electric Range Rover has yet to materialise. 

What cars will Freelander sell?

To mark the launch of the new brand, Freelander has offered a glimpse of its Concept 97 study, with the name harking back to the year that the original Freelander SUV was launched. The concept will make its official debut at the Beijing motor show in April, but it points to the first launch from Freelander which will come before the end of 2026 – they certainly move fast in China. 

The Concept 97 car faithfully recreates the original and second generation Freelander models for the modern era, and is understood to have been developed with a range of powertrains in mind, which will include electric and plug-in hybrid options. 

Keep an eye on Electrifying for further updates on Freelander and full coverage from the upcoming Beijing show. 

Freelander launch took place near Shanghai's famous Oriental Pearl Tower – its new HQ is a far cry from Whitley in Coventry