Shortly after it was officially teased by Chery, images of crash-tested Chery-JLR Freelander test mules have surfaced on various Chinese websites, ahead of the SUV’s official unveil on March 31. Built under a joint venture between China’s Chery group and England’s Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) group, the upcoming Freelander is expected to replace the Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque in China, both of which are locally produced at a Chery-JLR facility.
- The new Freelander is to debut as a plug-in hybrid on March 31
- Will be based on Chery’s T1X architecture
- Likely to sit separately from JLR's core luxury models
What do we know about the new Chery-JLR Freelander?
Exterior
As previewed in the official teaser, the new set of images show the front of the upcoming Freelander sporting boxy headlamps with a distinct protrusion towards the bottom of each housing. Furthermore, the leaked photos of the battered and camouflaged test mules reveal a clamshell bonnet and ‘Freelander’ lettering up front; the lettering is even larger one on the tailgate.
The images also showcase roof rails, a rear spoiler and a pair of boxy-looking tail-lamps. Moreover, there is a small hump above the front windscreen, which could house the LiDAR sensor. In keeping with the previous model, the overall design of the Chery-JLR Freelander also appears upright and boxy.
Interior
The leaked photos reveal a few details of the interior as well. For starters, the dashboard’s two-tier design is initially flat, before leading up to a separate vertical unit that stretches from pillar to pillar. The latter appears to house the digital driver’s display, while a large floating touchscreen with dedicated controls is located in the middle of the dashboard.
Even though the test mule’s steering wheel is missing its centre hub, there are physical controls on either side. Rounding off this rather minimalist-looking interior is the centre console with what appears to be a pair of wireless charging pads. The front seat belts are integrated into the seats.
New Chery-JLR Freelander market debut
Unlike its predecessor, the new-gen Freelander is available as a plug-in hybrid model and will “echo the original spirit of the Freelander but [be] brought up to date to appeal to discerning, technologically savvy Chinese consumers,” Jaguar Land Rover China president Qing Pan told Autocar UK. Pan also communicated that the new Freelander is to make its market debut in China, with “potential for global expansion”. The new Chery-JLR Freelander SUV will be built atop the Chinese brand’s T1X architecture, which is already used by Chery’s sub-brands like Jaecoo (for the J7), Autocar UK mentioned.
Unlike with Jaguar Land Rover’s ‘House of Brands’, which encompasses various Ranger Rover models and the Defender, the upcoming Chery-JLR Freelander is to have its own line-up. Moreover, the new Freelander will be sold by a separate dealer network operated by Chery, the British luxury automaker told Autocar UK. It is unclear as to when the new Freelander will arrive in markets outside China, but if it were to join JLR’s portfolio in European markets, the new Freelander plug-in hybrid could clash with the upcoming Range Rover Velar and Defender Sport – both of which are to be based on the EMA EV platform.
Source: CarNewsChina
Uday Singh
Dhruv Dhaka
Glenn Noronha
Viraaj Bhatnagar
