The new electric Freelander details leaked by government listing

The automotive industry has a habit of bringing back old names, and usually, these names come back as something very different from the original - take the modern Ford Capri. This time, the Freelander name is returning to the spotlight and you can forget what you remember about the small SUVs from the past. The new Freelander 8 is a giant, tech-filled vehicle designed for a modern driver.

The new SUV is the first product from a partnership between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover, and now we know more about it courtesy of recent documents from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The Freelander 8 made its first public appearance at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show. It is being called a "luxury tech all-terrain SUV."

When you look at the Freelander 8, the first thing you notice is the very boxy shape. It has straight, rugged lines that make it look tough. The front of the car is closed off because it does not need a big radiator, and it gives the vehicle a strong presence on the road.

The size is hard to ignore. The new Freelander 8 measures 201.5 inches in length, though some versions can be as long as 204.1 inches - that's 27 inches longer than the original Freelander. It is 80.7 inches wide and 74.7 inches tall. The wheelbase is 119.7 inches - there should be plenty of room inside for passengers and gadgets.

One of the most surprising things about the Freelander 8 is how much it weighs. The curb weight - the weight of the car with no people in it - is 6,570 lb. When you fill it up with passengers and luggage, the gross weight reaches 7,705 lb. That is only five kilograms away from being 3.5 metric tons, which is a weight limit for car license holders in most Western countries.

In many parts of Europe, if a vehicle weighs more than 3.5 tons, you need a truck license to drive it. It seems the engineers at Chery worked very hard to keep it just under that limit. It is quite a heavy machine for daily driving, but that is unfortunately common with large EVs because batteries are very heavy.

The Freelander 8 sits on a new platform called iMax. This setup allows the car to be a full battery electric vehicle or a range-extended version. In China, it will come as an 800V high-voltage EREV. An EREV is an electric car that has a small gas engine used only to charge the battery while driving. The six-seater Freelander has a 1.5-liter engine produced by Chery and rated at maximum net power of 105 kW with a declared fuel consumption of 0.76l/62 miles.

The battery inside is a Freevoy hybrid battery made by CATL. It can handle very fast charging with a peak charging power of 350kW. This means you won't have to wait very long at a charging station. For those who like speed, the battery can release power very quickly, too. This should make the heavy SUV move faster than you might expect.

Inside the cabin, the Freelander 8 is packed with high-tech parts. It uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8397 chip. This is one of the most powerful computers used in any car today. It helps the screens and menus run smoothly. It also has a LiDAR system on the roof.

This SUV is also the first to use the Huawei Qiankun ADS V4.1 system. This is a very advanced driving assistant. It helps the car stay in its lane, keep a safe distance from other cars, and even helps with parking. With Chery and Huawei working together, the Freelander 8 is essentially a giant smartphone that you can drive.

The Freelander 8 is expected to launch in the second half of this year. It will be built in China, but it is meant to be a global model. In the past year, the Land Rover brand has had some ups and downs. On average, they sell about 1,000 vehicles every month in China, and the best month was May 2025, when they sold 1,297 units. Their slowest month was September 2025, with only 573 units sold.

Will people really want a 3.5-ton SUV? With its mix of rugged looks and advanced Huawei technology, the Freelander 8 is definitely trying to make a big entrance. It is a bold new chapter for a nameplate that many car fans thought was gone for good.

Via