Hello Freelander 8, an REEV SUV that's Chery and Jaguar Land Rover's first baby

This is your first look at the Freelander 8 - the first premium hybrid off-roader under the joint venture of both Chery and Jaguar Land Rover.

Ahead of the model’s official launch later this year, Freelander has showcased the First Edition variant of the Freelander 8, which encompasses three limited colours.

When it goes on sale in China later this year, it should rival similarly-sized SUVs such as the Denza B8.

Exterior

This boxy SUV has a dimension of 5,118 mm in length, 2,050 mm in width and 1,898 mm in height, whereas the wheelbase is 3,040 mm.

Preliminary exterior details of the Freelander 8 include two wheel sizes and four rim styles, spread across 21- and 22-inch rims sizes.

Customization options include centre cover and brake caliper colours.

Additionally, the front and rear bumpers can be optioned in different colours as well.

Interior

Inside, the Freelander 8 features a 6-seater layout with a 2+2+2 seating configuration, spread across three rows.

The second row is equipped with Zero Gravity captain's chairs designed for maximum comfort. 

Second-row passengers get access to a drop-down entertainment screen and a high-mounted center console, mirroring the front row's setup.

Powertrain

The Freelander 8 is a range extender electric vehicle (REEV) that features a turbocharged 1.5-litre engine that serves as an on-board generator. At the time of writing, Freelander has yet to reveal the motor configuration of the Freelander 8.

It features an 800-volt electrical architecture paired with a CATL-sourced 60.331-kWh NMC battery pack. The Freelander 8 also supports 350-kW DC fast charging.

Equipment

The vehicle’s autonomous driving technology is driven by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8397 flagship computing chip where it's integrated into the vehicle’s centralised electrical platform control layout.

It also incorporates a unique off road stability safety suite, offering 9 distinct surface modes whilst uses deep tuned software by Huawei to predict and preemptively adjust traction before a slip even happens.

What about Malaysia?

With the Freelander 8 being Chery and JLR's first co-developed product, it could signal at potentially more Freelander-branded models in the future.

Closer to home, seeing Chery Malaysia's aggressive push into various SUV segments, as well as introducing marques like Lepas to the country, could Freelander be offered in Malaysia too?