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The Middle East will become the first overseas destination for the Freelander 8 while long term plans target presence in more than 90 countries within five years
Freelander hosted its Brand Night event in Wuhu, China a couple of days ago marking the public unveiling of the close-to-production version of the brand’s first SUV while also confirming its market name as the Freelander 8. The iconic nameplate has returned as a standalone premium new energy vehicle brand backed by Chery and Jaguar Land Rover.
The first production-bound model follows the earlier Concept 97 showcase held in Shanghai last month. Now transformed into a near-production form, the Freelander 8 has been developed as a premium all-terrain SUV. Design responsibility has been led by Phil Simmons, a well-known automotive designer closely associated with the original Freelander, Range Rover Velar and the modern Defender.
The Freelander 8 carries several heritage cues such as the traditional floating roof effect, signature triangular side window, clamshell-style bonnet treatment, upright seating position, interlocked headlamp signatures and familiar rear lighting themes. At the same time, the SUV gets a futuristic cabin with what is claimed to be the widest display in its segment and second-row zero-gravity seating.
The SUV uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8295 cockpit processor built on a 5 nm process enabling faster responses, connected smart cabin functions and support for as many as eight linked screens. Level 2+ driver assistance systems will be standard while Advanced Valet Parking Driver technology will be offered in selected markets.
Its off-road credentials are also central to the brand message. The SUV debuts the i-ATS intelligent all-terrain system which is described as the world’s first of its kind. It supports nine terrain settings and can react to changing surfaces within milliseconds to automatically select the most suitable mode. Supporting hardware includes a virtual centre lock, rear electronic limited-slip differential and dual-chamber air suspension.
It uses CATL battery tech with motor capable of over 550 horses. Safety standards have been engineered for multiple international crash protocols and Freelander also confirmed that more than 1,000 global test vehicles will be deployed across regions such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Northern Europe and extreme cold zones including Mohe to validate durability in over 99 per cent of real-world conditions.
The Middle East will become the first overseas destination for the brand while long term plans target presence in more than 90 countries within five years. The company looks to establish over 1,100 sales and service touchpoints globally during that period. Operationally, it will function as an independent international business with over 5,000 employees and full end-to-end capabilities.
Chery International’s 17 overseas subsidiaries and 11 global research centres will support this expansion. Production of all Freelander vehicles will take place at the Chery Jaguar Land Rover Changshu manufacturing base. Built with over USD 1.5 billion in investment and spread across 840,000 square metres, the facility has annual capacity for 2,00,000 vehicles and more than USD 440 million has additionally been invested to modernise the site.
The post Chery-JLR Backed Freelander Brand Unveils Its 1st SUV ‘Freelander 8’ appeared first on Gaadiwaadi.com – Latest Car & Bike News by Surendhar M.