The Freelander name is back, now a 560 hp Chinese range-extender SUV

A familiar badge returns on a car nothing like the original

The Freelander is back, but not as you remember it. The once-humble Land Rover has been reborn as a standalone brand under a Chery-JLR joint venture, and its first model, the Freelander 8 First Edition, is a 560 hp range-extender SUV built exclusively for China. The name is the only thing it shares with the original.

A brand, not just a model

Freelander is now a brand in its own right, established through the joint venture between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover. The Freelander 8 First Edition is its launch model, first shown at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2026 and publicly debuting in June. It is aimed squarely at the Chinese market, where it has already found early buyers, with close to 4,000 units delivered through May 2026.

How the range-extender works

The Freelander 8 is an extended-range electric vehicle, which means it drives like an EV but carries a petrol engine as a backup generator. Twin electric motors produce a combined output of around 560 hp through all-wheel drive, while a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine, good for roughly 156 hp on its own, never drives the wheels directly. It exists only to recharge the 60.3 kWh CATL-developed battery, which provides up to 221 km of electric-only range on the CLTC cycle. The 800V architecture supports rapid charging at up to 350 kW.

Genuinely capable, seriously high-tech

This is no soft crossover. The Freelander 8 has an all-terrain system with three differential locks, front mechanical, rear electronic and a virtual centre, plus dual-chamber air suspension. The technology list is heavily Chinese in flavour: a roof-mounted LiDAR unit on every variant, Huawei's Qiankun ADS 5 driver-assistance system and a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip running the central computing. At nearly 5.2 metres long, six-seat capacity and a gross weight of almost 3,500 kg, it is a substantial machine.

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Reviving the Freelander name for a China-only Chinese-engineered SUV will feel strange to anyone who remembers the original, but it is a sharp piece of strategy. JLR gets to monetise a dormant badge and tap Chery's electric and software expertise, exactly the kind of partnership Western brands increasingly need to stay relevant in China. The harder question is what it does to the Freelander name long term. If this car is good, the badge gains a modern second life. If it is forgettable, JLR will have spent real heritage on a market most of its traditional customers will never see. Either way, it is another sign that the future of these storied British names is increasingly being written in China.