- Chery has confirmed that the reborn Freelander is heading for New Zealand.
- Set to debut here in 2027, the Freelander 8 is a large luxury SUV built by Chery Jaguar Land Rover.
- JLR licensed the Freelander name to its Chinese joint venture with Chery, launching it as its own brand.
The Freelander name is returning to New Zealand, but this time it is attached to a 5.1-metre-plus Chinese-built luxury SUV rather than the compact Land Rover that once wore the badge.
Originally a Land Rover model, Freelander has been relaunched as a new premium SUV brand that is a collaboration between Jaguar Land Rover and Chery, that latter of which as revealed that has confirmed that the brand will launch in Australia and New Zealand in 2027, with the large Freelander 8 its first model for the region.
At more than 5.1 metres long, the 8 is a large three-row family SUV, with five- and six-seat configurations, rather than a spiritual successor to the compact Freelander 2, and, as you might have guessed from the Chery involvement, it is not coming from a factory in Britain. The Freelander 8 is built in China by Chery Jaguar Land Rover, a 50:50 joint venture between the two companies.
JLR licensed the Freelander name to the Chery-JLR joint venture in 2024, with the resulting brand intended to combine JLR's design and off-road know-how with Chery's electrified powertrain technology and enormous manufacturing scale.
In other words, it is essentially a Chinese-built premium SUV brand with British DNA, rather than a Land Rover with a different badge, a distinction that will probably matter to buyers, particularly given the considerable brand equity attached to the Freelander name in New Zealand.
The new brand was formally launched in Abu Dhabi recently, following its Chinese launch earlier in September. The UAE is its first export market, with Australia and New Zealand next in line.
The Freelander 8 is being manufactured at the Chery-JLR plant in Changshu, China, where the first example rolled off the production line on 30 July 2026, but the joint venture itself isn't new, as Chery and JLR have been working together since 2012 and the Changshu operation has built JLR models for the Chinese domestic market, including the Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque.
The original Freelander was launched by Land Rover in 1997 and became one of the brand's more accessible models before eventually being replaced by the Discovery Sport. Now the name is being resurrected, but it has been moved substantially upmarket and given a much more overtly technology-focused identity.
The company says it plans to launch six models over the next five years, with the 8 intended to be the start of an entire range rather than a one-off experiment. And, according to the company, it has been a rather successful start so far, with the 8 reportedly attracting more than 10,000 pre-orders in its first 48 hours on sale in China.
Locally, Freelander Australia & New Zealand will be headed by Kym Mellow, a veteran of the Australian and New Zealand automotive industry who has previously held senior roles with Mazda Australia and Inchcape Australasia.
Freelander says it will sell through "established Australian and New Zealand dealers", with appointments to be announced before launch, and that metropolitan and selected regional dealers will be supported with dedicated facilities, trained staff and parts and aftersales support.
Australian and New Zealand pricing, specifications and exact launch timing will all be announced closer to the Freelander 8's 2027 arrival.
