The Land Rover Freelander will soon be returning as a range of electric vehicles initially aimed at the Chinese market.
The new models will be manufactured in China by the Chery Jaguar Land Rover (CJLR) joint venture and will be based on Chery’s electric vehicle architecture.
The two companies have announced the signing of a letter of intent to strengthen the CJLR product offering in China. The Freelander will be marketed as an independent brand with “an advanced portfolio of electric vehicles,” separate from Chery and Jaguar Land Rover’s existing offerings.
The statement states that the new Freelander range will be designed with contributions from Chery and Jaguar Land Rover design studios to create a new position in the rapidly growing electric vehicle market in China, and that the new models will be produced at the CJLR factory in Changshu.
“Today we are taking this important strategic step for JLR, which underscores our ongoing commitment to China and complements our business. We believe that working together to develop new collaboration models for the world’s largest and fastest-growing electric vehicle market, combined with the appeal of the Freelander brand, promises a very exciting future for CJLR.”, emphasized Adrian Mardell, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover.
Recall that the Freelander was introduced in 1997 as a compact SUV and was in production until 2015 when it was discontinued to make way for the Discovery Sport in 2016.
