Jaguar Land Rover Join Chery to Bring an All-Electric Freelander to China

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Jaguar Land Rover and Chery Automobile’s joint venture in Changshu, Jiangsu province.

Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. has partnered with Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. to form a new joint venture to develop electric vehicles, leveraging the state-owned Chinese automaker’s advanced product platform, the companies announced Wednesday.

The new models will carry the “Freelander” badge, a popular compact SUV brand Land Rover first introduced in 1997 but discontinued in 2015. The new electric models will be marketed through a dedicated network in China, with plans for future exports, the companies said.

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Jaguar Land Rover has partnered with Chery Automobile to develop electric vehicles, reviving the Freelander badge for the Chinese market.
Jaguar Land Rover’s sales, including 106,000 in China in 2023, are behind top luxury brands, and the JV with Chery has underperformed.
Chery’s exports have surged, doubling to 937,148 vehicles in 2023, while Jaguar Land Rover plans to make a substantial shift to electric models by 2030.

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Who’s Who

Jaguar Land Rover Ltd.: Jaguar Land Rover Ltd., owned by India's Tata Motors since 2008, is partnering with Chery Automobile to develop electric vehicles. Despite being renowned luxury brands, their sales lag behind rivals like Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Their 2023 China sales reached 106,000 vehicles, with a factory capable of producing 200,000 annually. They aim to make Jaguar a pure electric brand by 2025 and have 60% of Land Rover models electric by 2030.

Chery Automobile Co. Ltd.: Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. is a state-owned Chinese automaker known for advanced product platforms. It partnered with Jaguar Land Rover to develop electric vehicles and collaborates with Huawei on the Luxeed R7 SUV. Chery is expanding in Europe, acquiring a plant in Spain and launching brands Omoda and Jaecoo. In 2023, it exported over 937,000 vehicles, nearly half its annual sales.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is competing in the luxury electric vehicle market with their M9 SUV, priced over 500,000 yuan ($69,000). Additionally, Huawei is collaborating with Chery to develop the Luxeed R7 SUV, priced between 300,000 yuan and 400,000 yuan.

BYD: BYD is a Chinese new energy vehicle company competing in the luxury electric vehicle market. One of its luxury SUVs is the Fangchengbao, which will compete with Jaguar Land Rover's new Freelander series. The competition in this sector is intensifying, particularly from companies like BYD.

SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd.: SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd. is China's largest automaker. It has partnered with Volkswagen AG’s Audi to develop electric models based on SAIC's platform. This collaboration is part of a broader trend where multinational companies seek joint ventures with Chinese manufacturers to compete in the new energy vehicle sector.

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What Happened When

1997：: Land Rover first introduced the Freelander badge.

2008：: India's Tata Motors purchased Jaguar Land Rover from Ford.

2012：: Jaguar Land Rover and Chery Automobile established a joint venture in Changshu, Jiangsu province, to produce Jaguar and Land Rover cars in China.