Freelander 8 makes its debut: Chery-JLR's new EREV flagship undercuts its own pre-sale price in China

The Freelander 8 — the debut product of Freelander, the standalone brand created from the former Jaguar Land Rover nameplate and developed jointly with Chery — went on sale in China on Thursday, entering the country's crowded premium extended-range EV SUV arena. Three trims carry list prices of 309,900 to 399,900 yuan, but each gets a 20,000-yuan cut with incentives, putting the entry point at 289,900 yuan ($42,750) — a full 40,000 yuan under the 329,900-yuan pre-sale price announced on August 21. Buyers choose between five-seat and 2+2+2 six-seat cabins, with the six-seat layout adding 10,000 yuan per trim. A 1,000-unit limited first edition, listed at 459,900 yuan (449,900 yuan after incentives), had already sold out before launch day.

Every version combines a 115-kW 1.5-liter turbocharged range extender with a 360-kW front motor and a two-speed 250-kW rear motor, delivering 610 kW (818 hp) and 813 Nm, a 4.6-second 0-100 km/h time and a 220 km/h top speed. A 60.3-kWh ternary lithium pack from CATL is standard and rated for 310 km of CLTC electric range, while the 800-volt 6C architecture recharges the battery from 20% to 80% in as little as 12 minutes.

Measuring 5,118 mm long with a 3,040-mm wheelbase, the SUV runs double-wishbone front and H-arm multi-link rear suspension with closed dual-chamber air springs and CCD dampers, and ±10-degree rear-wheel steering trims the turning radius to 5.15 meters. Huawei's Qiankun ADS 5 is fitted across the range, though hardware varies: Pro and Max use the Enhanced tier with a shared-optical-path in-cabin LiDAR, while the Max+ steps up to ADS 5 Ultra with an 896-channel dual-optical-path imaging-grade LiDAR plus a solid-state unit — Max buyers can add Ultra for 20,000 yuan. Cabin kit includes Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8397, a 46.3-inch 8K far-view display and a 15.6-inch center screen, with a 17.3-inch rear ceiling display standard from Max upward.

Freelander, once a JLR model line, became an independent NEV-focused brand on March 31 and plans six models over five years. The 8 has export ambitions too: a left-hand-drive version for the Middle East is slated to arrive between late this year and early next.