Freelander 8 plug-in hybrid takes altitude record from BYD ahead of China launch

The Freelander 8, first model from the newly created Freelander marque run by the Chery Jaguar Land Rover (CJLR) joint venture, has entered the record books before its first customer handover. Climbing a mountain in Tibet, the large plug-in hybrid reached 6,002.33 meters above sea level, a new Guinness altitude figure for hybrid vehicles that edges past the 5,980.05 m set earlier by BYD's ladder-frame FangChengBao Leopard 5. Chinese dealers start receiving the SUV on September 19.

Despite its unibody construction, the vehicle carries serious off-road hardware: every version pairs two electric motors with all-wheel drive, all trims except the entry-level Pro add wheel-to-wheel differential locks, and the rear motor drives through a two-speed reduction gear that aids steep climbs. It sits on a derivative of Chery's E0X platform with an 800-volt electrical system, and offers adaptive air suspension, rear-axle steering of up to 10 degrees, plus a lidar-and-Qualcomm Snapdragon 8397 package powering Huawei's Qiankun ADS 5.0 assistance suite with SAE Level 2 capability.

Propulsion is exclusively series-hybrid: a 1.5-liter turbo engine (156 hp) never drives the wheels and works only as a generator for the 60.33 kWh battery, while the two motors together deliver 610 kW (830 hp) and 813 Nm, good for a 4.6-second run to 100 km/h. Electric-only range is quoted at 310 km CLTC or 221 km WLTP. The cabin comes as a five- or six-seater with a 46.3-inch 8K display spanning the dash, a 17.3-inch ceiling screen for rear occupants, a 23-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, and a 10-liter fridge on upper grades.

Chinese pricing spans 289,900 yuan for the five-seat Pro to 439,900 yuan for the limited First Edition six-seater. Freelander is aimed primarily at China, though exports are planned, and CJLR intends to field at least six models under the brand between 2026 and 2030 — all on Chery platforms, with JLR contributing design only.