Freelander Is Back

This new Freelander brand has me flummoxed. Is it Chinese. Is it British? It features British design led by Land Rover with Chery engineering and technology. So that already says to me more Chinese input than British. Does it matter? It may be a sign of things to come. 

The model range: The Freelander 8 is first up, as a large luxury EV SUV, carrying only the Freelander name. More models will be coming along at a rapid clip, with several expected over the next four years. 

The new Model 8 size: It is a large, three-row SUV, 5,100 mm in length, seating up to seven people. 

Power: It comes with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system producing a combined 610 kW (818 horsepower) and 813 Nm of torque. It uses a 60 kWh battery and a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine used as a generator, offering about 200 km of electric range. It also has an 800V architecture. 

Release: Deliveries are already taking place in China with 5,000 firm orders within 12 hours of official launch. An international brand rollout is also happening. Right-hand drive configurations are engineered for international markets, with regional rollouts confirmed for markets like Australia and the UK, although for the UK, for example, it's a late 2027 expected ETA.  

Likely sales success: Early indications are it will be a strong selling marque. It won't be making it to the USA, but there is enough world out there to keep production lines moving. 

Greece Passenger Car Sales : 2026 (Jan-Aug)

Registrations were up 37% in August but up 2% YTD. A shortage of licence plates has severely impaacted on vehicle registrations. Hopefully, things will be back to normal soon.

Toyota is miles ahead with over 16% market share. In second place, Peugeot has less than half that figure at 7.9%. Citroën and Dacia have done well. The Chinese brands are here in numbers but for now are yet to have a big impact. 

Data source: SEAA.
Photos Citroën (e-C3) & Suzuki Vitara.

A McLaren SUV? Apparently So

I recall writing some time back that I thought that McLaren was very brave to resist the temptation to have an SUV. Every other luxury sports car manufacturer had yielded and gone to the dark side. The competition decided that it was a route they had to take. It's more profitable and reduces the financial impact if the sports car market is soft. 

McLaren has surrendered and common sense has prevailed. Every manufacturer needs an SUV. Its code name is P47 but if you want to see some images, a bit early for that. There are some images circulating but as they are not from McLaren, I decided not to post guesswork. 

This isn't simply about designing a different sort of the car, big as that is in itself. It also needs to be built somewhere, driven by something new and the increased volume also means expansions in other areas of the operation. So what are some of the details?

Plant Expansion: A second vehicle manufacturing plant, possibly in Sheffield. There will be expansions in facilities in Woking and Bicester. 

In House Manufacturing: McLaren is shifting away from external suppliers, in that it plans to design and build two new engines and transmissions. 

Timing: It is expected to be ready around 2028, all going well.

A Full EV Variant: This won't be happening as demand isn't sufficient to justify an EV.  

Competition: The Lamborghini Urus and Aston Martin DBX are obvious ones. 

McLaren is doing this from scratch, without collaborating with anyone else.  It's a shame that there isn't a way to share with others and save on costs. That said, I can see why they want to do the car to match the McLaren ethos.