The primary automotive to come back from Chinese language big Chery’s new Freelander model has surfaced forward of its unveiling on 31 March.
The Chinese language firm (which sells vehicles within the UK beneath its Chery, Jaecoo and Omoda manufacturers) is reviving the Freelander identify in collaboration with JLR for a brand new line of electrified crossovers.
Photographs of the brand new mannequin following a crash check have now been printed by Chinese language web site MyDrivers, in addition to CarNewsChina.
Though the automobiles pictured are closely broken, they clearly draw on the unique Land Rover Freelander, with blocky proportions and squared-off lights entrance and rear.
Certainly, the entrance lighting graphic matches the distinctive design launched by Chery earlier this week.
Whereas Freelanders will at first be offered solely within the Chinese language market, there may be “potential for world growth”, JLR China president Qing Pan mentioned beforehand.
Picture: MyDrivers
Chery is growing the electrified mannequin vary utilizing an in-house-developed “versatile” platform, Pan mentioned.
Autocar has discovered that that is Chery’s T1X platform, which underpins numerous vehicles from its different manufacturers, such because the Jaecoo 7.
The primary new Freelander is about to be a plug-in hybrid. It would “echo the unique spirit of Freelander however [be] introduced updated to enchantment to discerning, technologically savvy Chinese language shoppers,” Pan mentioned.
The brand new Freelander will give Chery JLR’s manufacturing unit a alternative for the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Vary Rover Evoque, manufacturing of which is able to finish this 12 months.
It would sit in numerous market section from JLR’s imported high-end fashions in China, equivalent to the Vary Rover, Vary Rover Sport and Land Rover Defender.
JLR has mentioned the brand new Freelander will likely be offered in a community of its personal devoted, Chery-run dealerships.
Freelander does not come beneath JLR’s luxury-focused ‘Home of Manufacturers’ advertising and gross sales technique, which successfully splits Jaguar, Defender, Discovery and Vary Rover into stand-alone mannequin traces.
Within the UK and mainland Europe, a Chinese language-built Freelander may cannibalise gross sales of the cheaper fashions based mostly on JLR’s new EMA EV platform, such because the upcoming Vary Rover Velar and Land Rover Defender Sport. That might make the enterprise case for promoting Freelanders in these markets tougher to justify.
