Freelander Revival By Chery In Beijing Auto Show 2026

We get up close to the all new Freelander 8 and it is large …… very large …… larger than the current land Rover Discovery and Range Rover.

This Freelander nameplate will be now a brand and it is being revived as an independent, premium electric SUV brand via a joint venture between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). Launching in 2026, the first of the new Freelander models will utilise Chery’s E0X platform to produce large, three-row luxury SUVs, starting with a model featuring 800V fast-charging, CATL batteries, and Huawei technology.

This Freelander brand will operate as a standalone brand from the Chery-JLR joint venture, separate from JLR’s existing portfolio (Range Rover, Defender, Discovery).

This new Freelander 8 model will spearhead the new brand and it will be produced at the Changshu plant in China and with 100 retail outlets planned in China initially. The Freelander 8 will be built on Chery’s high-end E0X platform and are set to feature Huawei Qiankun intelligent driving, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8397 chips, and CATL batteries.

The inaugural Freelander 8 model is a 6-seater SUV (codenamed E0V) featuring “boxy” styling, a T-top body style option, and a three-row layout. While designed for the Chinese market, global exports are planned like Europe, Gulf nations, South America and African continent.

By the way…. the vehicle’s doors were locked at the Beijing show stand which means Chery has not finalised the cabin technology.