Freelander 8
The Freelander 8 is the car that launched the reborn Freelander brand, unveiled in production form in Wuhu, Chery’s home city, after first appearing as the Concept 97 show car ahead of the Beijing Motor Show. It’s a genuinely large three-row SUV, measuring just over 5.1 metres long, which makes it longer than a Land Rover Defender 110, with styling clearly overseen by JLR’s design team: an upright stance, a bluff nose, and a distinctive triangular rear side window that’s a deliberate callback to the original 1997 Freelander.
Most versions seat six across a 2+2+2 layout, with a five-seat entry variant also offered. It’s built on Chery’s flexible iMax platform with an 800-volt electrical architecture, and offered as a plug-in hybrid, pairing a turbocharged petrol engine with electric motors, alongside a range-extender EREV version where the engine’s job is purely to keep the battery topped up rather than drive the wheels directly. DC charging tops out at 350kW. Off-road hardware is genuinely serious for a debut model, Chery calls it the world’s first “intelligent all-terrain system,” with nine drive modes, a virtual centre differential lock, a rear electronic limited-slip differential, and dual-chamber air suspension, backed up by a 2,000kg towing capacity.
Standard technology includes Huawei’s Qiankun ADS 5 driver assistance system, a 46.3 inch 8K display, and a roof-mounted LiDAR sensor, positioning it well above what most rivals offer as standard at this price point. Chinese pre-sales opened in August 2026 and attracted more than 10,000 orders within the first 48 hours, with pricing starting from 339,900 yuan for the entry five-seat version, roughly £37,000 converted, rising to 429,900 yuan for the top Max+ trim.
Freelander 8 in the UK
@alpscars
No UK launch has been confirmed as of today. Chinese deliveries are expected in the second half of 2026, with right-hand-drive prototype testing already underway in Australia, but the most recent reporting is notably more cautious than earlier accounts suggested: current coverage points to the first overseas version being left-hand-drive and aimed at the Middle East, expected around the end of 2026 or early 2027, with JLR describing the wider Freelander portfolio as intended for global export “over time” rather than naming a firm UK date. The Middle East, not the UK, currently looks like the more likely next step in Freelander’s international rollout.