The best-selling Land Rover is coming back

Author | Chai Xuchen

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

Eight years ago, the best-selling Land Rover SUV globally underwent a transformation and will re-emerge as a pioneer in electrification.

On June 19, Jaguar Land Rover signed a strategic cooperation memorandum with Chery Automobile, planning to launch and produce a series of electric vehicle products through their joint venture company "Chery Jaguar Land Rover". Chery will provide the electric platform, while Jaguar Land Rover will authorize the brand "Freelander" to them.

This move was somewhat expected in the industry. Two months ago, Chery's Chairman Yin Tongyue revealed during his first live broadcast that two European car brands would use Chery's electric platform, and now the first brand has been unveiled.

As an entry-level product for Land Rover, the Freelander was introduced to China in imported form in 2003, underwent upgrades, localization, and was renamed as Discovery Sport in 2016. Before the renaming, the Freelander series had always been the sales backbone of Chery Jaguar Land Rover, consistently holding 70-90% of the joint venture's sales share.

The return of the Freelander signifies that Jaguar Land Rover will add another member to its existing four major brands. However, this time, the leading role will be taken by the joint venture company.

Insiders revealed that the new brand will use Chery's E0X platform and share technology with Chery's luxury brand Exeed. Jaguar Land Rover has not commented on this, stating that the details are not yet finalized.

Furthermore, the cooperation mentions that the "Freelander" will be sold in China through a specific network in advance. A source close to Jaguar Land Rover revealed that the new product will not appear in the existing sales networks of both parties, but will be led by Chery and utilize a completely new sales network.

Industry insiders view this move as Land Rover establishing a new energy brand under the joint venture company's name.

Behind these series of changes lies the urgency of Chery Jaguar Land Rover, and even Jaguar Land Rover China, in terms of scale and electrification. They hope to quickly break new ground in China.

Over the past years, Chery Jaguar Land Rover has repeatedly launched exclusive models for the Chinese market, but has struggled to break through in the competitive market and urgently needs to increase its presence in the new energy wave.

This long-standing British joint venture car company needs a chance to "break the old and establish the new" to reignite market confidence.

However, Jaguar Land Rover's own EMA platform is still in progress, and the first pure electric model will not be launched until next year. On the other hand, Jaguar Land Rover, which still adheres to the luxury route, is also unwilling to significantly sacrifice prices for sales volume. Ma Zhenshan, Executive Vice President of Chery Jaguar Land Rover, stated, "Users who deviate from the brand's core price range are not our most loyal customers. Low-priced new attractions will damage the brand."

At this point, launching the relatively independent Freelander brand has become the best starting point for experimentation. Jaguar Land Rover also hopes to see it shine once again in the new energy era.

Jaguar Land Rover China told Wall Street News that the advantageous resources of both joint venture parties will be injected into Freelander, "this is the shortest, fastest, and most efficient cooperation model." After the brand's relaunch, it will focus on the mainstream electric vehicle market. A source close to Jaguar Land Rover added that in the future, Freelander may be positioned in the mid-to-high-end car market between Jaguar Land Rover and Chery, filling the product gap between the two parties In addition, Jaguar Land Rover China told Wall Street News that the Land Rover Defender has a relatively high acceptance in Europe. If the initial electric version of the Land Rover Defender is successfully launched in China, it will further expand overseas exports in the future, and also serve as a link for the subsequent launch of Jaguar Land Rover's own electric platform products.

Obviously, the Land Rover Defender has taken on the heavy responsibility of electrification and scaling up for Chery Jaguar Land Rover, and more importantly, it is paving the way for Jaguar Land Rover's local electrification.

However, perhaps because this is a path that both parties have never tried before, Jaguar Land Rover has quietly isolated itself from the hidden uncertainties.

According to sources close to Jaguar Land Rover, the Land Rover Defender has currently only been granted the brand, excluding the right to use the Jaguar Land Rover brand logo. The new model will not display the Land Rover or Chery logo, but will instead design a completely new brand.

In other words, the new brand will contribute to the performance of Chery Jaguar Land Rover, but will not affect the planning of Chery and Jaguar Land Rover's "New Modern Luxury Brand Family," in order to avoid unknown impacts on the existing global product line as much as possible.

It is worth mentioning that this bold attempt by Land Rover serves as a reference for the entire second-tier luxury car industry.

In recent years, the rapid transformation of China's new energy vehicle industry has brought significant challenges to traditional second-tier luxury car brands, as their living space in China is gradually being squeezed by domestic automakers.

Previously, many luxury brands successively launched a large number of electric vehicle products, but sales have not yet achieved the expected results. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and others have even lowered the prices of their electric vehicles to below 200,000 yuan in exchange for a relatively good electrification performance.

Luxury car brands' struggle in the electric era, coupled with the huge changes in domestic user demand, urgently need breakthroughs.

Therefore, the "reverse joint venture" model of entrusting the "soul" to Chinese car manufacturers has become a trend. Volkswagen's collaboration with XPeng, Stellantis with Leapmotor, and SAIC with Audi are all hoping to find a breakthrough.

Whether the reborn Land Rover Defender can use Chery's technology and Land Rover's brand heritage to carve out a piece of the sky in the new energy market depends on whether the two companies have a deeper understanding of current domestic consumer demands and whether they can quickly adapt to the unpredictable market.

The landscape of the new energy vehicle industry has not yet solidified, and both BBA and second-tier luxury, as well as joint venture players, are unwilling to easily admit defeat. They all eagerly hope to return to their former glory.

However, faced with the "downward pressure" from domestic brands, the old players can only have a chance to counterattack against the new forces if they adjust quickly with a more open mindset. But dragging their massive bodies, this is not easy