Freelander: reborn as a 4x4 brand in its own right and coming soon to a showroom near you

Thirty years on from the launch of the Land Rover model that dominated the compact SUV market in the late 1990s and early 21st century, Freelander is returning as a standalone brand with the backing of longstanding Jaguar Land Rover joint venture partner Chery.

The top five Chinese carmaker by global sales – already behind the UK smash hit brands Jaecoo and (to a lesser extent) Omoda – isn’t going slow with the project either. Pitching the new marque as a 'British Premium Intelligent All-Terrain Brand' it plans to launch six Freelander models inside five years in left- and right-hand drive configurations and across 90 markets, including the Middle East, European Union and the UK.

The Freelander has a laudable model history, trailblazing a more soft-surfaced exterior style of compact SUV with more passenger car-like interior creature comforts, in contrast to more rugged 4x4s (like the then very boxy and offroad-focused Land Rover Defender).

Launched in 1997, it quickly became Europe’s top-selling 4x4. And while it could still handle the rough stuff it boasted simpler ways to tackle such terrain, as the first vehicle in the world to offer the patented ‘hill descent control’ feature now commonplace across more serious SUV segments and beyond.

After two generations the model was discontinued in 2015, as other models from the JLR group such as the Range Rover Evoque became more popular. But a letter of intent between JLR and Chery in June 2024 announced the revival of the Freelander name – and this time as a brand in its own right.

Crucially for its credibility, a very significant Land Rover and Range Rover designer, Phil Simmons – with a CV including the 2001 Range Rover Mk3, 2017 Velar and 2018 Evoque Mk2 – was behind the new Freelander brand’s design relaunch.

Early in 2026 a teaser image of the Concept 97 vehicle was shown, to reference the Freelander’s original launch year and in late spring the brand officially launched with its first production model – the Freelander 8 – at the large and impressive Museum of the China Sculpture Institute in Wuhu, home of Chery International.

Wallpaper* was on hand to witness both the Concept 97 vehicle colourfully lit up at the Wuhu museum’s entrance and the five-metre-long Freelander 8 inside, the brand’s first showroom-ready car. In a private ante room where press cameras weren’t allowed there was also a full-size model of the next slightly smaller Freelander production car to follow, to show the consistency of design direction.

All three vehicles are more impressive than expected and in keeping with the original Freelander, including details like its ‘castle-style' body, interlocking headlight elements (from the Mk2), triangular rear side windows, dual peak bonnet and high ‘command’ driving position.

To keep things more 2026 than 1997 the Freelander 8 will offer nine switchable terrain modes, dual-chamber air suspension and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8295P chip, able to power up to eight displays at once in an ultra-responsive fashion.

The cabin of the six-seater Freelander 8 wasn’t available to jump inside just yet, but what we could discern through the windows revealed a smart and restrained interior with a large central screen and a full-width surround view driver display at the base of windscreen.

Reclinable ‘zero gravity’ seating will also be part of the kit list, to allow owners to rest better while recharging – as the SUV is set to offer full-electric, plug-in hybrid and range extender power units.

The brand will initially be built in China and exported around the world and likely to be priced well above current Chery export brands Jaecoo, Omoda and Lepas, but also well below Land Rover and Range Rover models, to avoid any clash. Sales are due to start from late 2026.

CheryJaguarLandRover.com, LandRover.co.uk