The Freelander is back, the Chery-made JLR SUV with Huawei ADS 5.0 technology

Freelander returns to the world market not as a nostalgia operation, but as a new global standalone brand. More Chinese than British, it is the result of a partnership between China's Chery and Jaguar Land Rover with the added technological contribution of Huawei, which is supplying all its latest technologies, such as Huawei's latest generation Advanced Driving System, ADS 5.0.

Freelander 8, as the first of six models coming in the next five years is called, is based on an 800 volt platform capable of handling plug-in, electric and range extender variants, the new SUV was tested with no less than 1,000 test cars covering 99% of driving conditions.

The Freelander 8 is the first model in the world to use Huawei's full range of intelligent driving solutions. The debut model, the Freeander 8 also features an 896-line LiDAR. Thanks to the technical integration between Huawei and the Chery plus Jaguar land Rover brands, the i-ATS, Intelligent All-Terrain System was developed that incorporates, for the first time, high-resolution LiDAR data to improve off-road driving. The i-ATS system has undergone no fewer than six different test and validation cycles on 20 types of terrain, offering millisecond response times and automatically adapting the most logical driving mode. Equipped with front, centre and rear differential locks and air suspension with a wide range of settings, Freelander 8 is designed to handle off-road with ease. Stable on the highway, in the off-road it is equipped to anticipate the pitfalls of the roads ahead.

In addition to autonomous driving and off-road technology, the new Freelander 8 will be among the first to integrate the next-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip, which is specific to the automotive sector and has enough computing power to support up to eight multi-screen connections and an instrument cluster with an ultra-wide display, the largest in the industry. It will also be equipped as standard with a battery specifically for off-road driving developed in cooperation with CATL and capable of recharging to 350 kW. The combination sets a new global standard for alternative energy vehicles, based on three fundamental pillars: assisted driving, intelligent cabin and battery performance. The Freelander brand will soon publish official renderings of its first production model, which, however, remains very faithful to the stylistic essence of the concept that preceded it. The brand plans to launch a total of six models over the next five years. The first production vehicle will debut in China and the Middle East in the second half of 2026. In Europe, it will land during 2027.

The Freelander brand has already planned a roadmap to expand to more than 90 countries globally within the next five years, supported by a dealer network of 1,100 sales and service outlets. Production of all six Freelander models is planned to take place at the Changshu plant, previously used for the assembly of Land Rover models that were marketed in China in partnership with the Chery brand. The plant is currently undergoing total modernisation based on a total investment of USD 1.5 billion to reach a production capacity of 200,000 units per year. The brand plans to launch a total of six models in the next five years. Further technical details and in particular official interior photographs, which have not yet been revealed, will be announced in the coming weeks. Together with prices for China and the Middle East, the first two markets already on sale.