Freelander 8 confirmed for Australia in 2027, range-extender variant still under consideration

Freelander will launch in Australia in the second half of 2027 with the Freelander 8 SUV, the brand's head for Australia and New Zealand has confirmed. Kym Mellow reaffirmed the timing in an interview in China but did not give a specific month.

The Australian model lineup is not yet finalised, and a range-extender version of the Freelander 8 remains possible for the local market. Mellow said the brand has not committed on the model range for Australia.

Plug-in hybrid confirmed, range-extender not ruled out

When asked why Australia was not getting the range-extender version, Mellow said: "We haven't committed on the model range yet for Australia". Asked about the international model's 2.0-litre plug-in hybrid system, he said: "That is definitely the one confirmed". He did not confirm an Australian launch for the range-extender or give an arrival date.

The international plug-in hybrid differs from the Chinese-market range-extender. In Middle East specification, the left-hand-drive plug-in hybrid combines a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine with two electric motors and a 34.12kWh lithium iron phosphate battery. Freelander claims 460kW of power and 662Nm of torque, with a 0-100km/h time of 5.8 seconds. It claims at least 110km of electric range and at least 886km with a full tank and charged battery, both on the WLTC test cycle.

The Chinese-market EREV uses a different powertrain: a 115kW/220Nm turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine that charges the battery, with a pair of electric motors driving the wheels, a 360kW/338Nm front unit and a 250kW/475Nm rear unit. It has a significantly larger 60.3kWh ternary lithium battery, with electric range of 310km under the CLTC cycle, and a claimed 0-100km/h time of 4.6 seconds.

Pricing, warranty and final lineup still to be announced

Australian pricing for the Freelander 8 has not been announced. Warranty coverage for the brand in Australia also remains unannounced, as does the final model lineup.

The Freelander 8 will debut the JLR-Chery brand in Australia in 2027. The second-half timing is the only launch window confirmed so far, with no month specified.

Two powertrain paths, two different sets of claims

The two powertrain options come with figures that cannot be compared directly. The plug-in hybrid's range claims are on the WLTC cycle, while the Chinese EREV's 310km electric range is measured on CLTC. The two test cycles use different procedures, so the numbers are not equivalent.

For Australian buyers, the confirmed plug-in hybrid offers substantially more combined power and torque than the EREV's engine, but the EREV's larger battery and dual-motor setup point to stronger electric-only performance. Which of those matters more depends on how the car is used, and on which version Freelander ultimately brings here.

Fiat's next small electric car will be called the Koala and is due to arrive in 2027, the brand's CEO Arnauld Belloni said in an interview with Autocar at the Paris Motor Show. The car was expected to debut at the show but did not appear, with Fiat instead displaying the Multiplay concept alongside the Grizzly and Grizzly Fastback.

The Koala will sit on Stellantis' E-Car platform, the group's dedicated underpinnings for a coming wave of small electric cars, and will be built in Italy at the Pomigliano d'Arco plant alongside the new Citroën 2CV.

Why the Koala skipped Paris

Fiat design chief François Leboine explained the absence by saying "it wasn't the right time to show what we were working on". Autocar's reading is that Fiat may have wanted to avoid pulling attention away from the debut of the new Citroën 2CV, which shares the Koala's production home.

Belloni framed the car as part of a broader push: "We are working on some cars based on the E-Car platform. We are preparing a small car that will be based on the 2CV, and it will be truly surprising". The shared 2CV base is the clearest signal yet of how tightly Stellantis intends to bundle its small EVs across brands.

A European answer to kei cars

The E-Car platform is aimed at a new vehicle category the European Union is developing to encourage production and sales of electric cars under 4.2 metres (165.4 inches) long. The idea borrows from Japan's kei cars, though the European models will be considerably larger.

That regulatory framing matters more than the name. A category built around sub-4.2-metre EVs gives Stellantis a reason to spread one platform across Fiat, Citroën and potentially Opel, and the Koala is the Fiat entry in that plan. An Opel-badged version could also join the Koala and 2CV on the Pomigliano d'Arco line.

Design and the growing small-car family

The Koala's styling could draw on a concept shown during Stellantis' industrial plan presentation, which had a boxy shape, angular lines and headlights integrated into the front fascia.

It joins a Fiat small-car range that already includes the Pandina, Grande Panda and Grizzly. For buyers, the practical effect is a Fiat line-up increasingly concentrated in the city-car end of the market, with the Koala as the electric option beneath the larger models.

What Fiat has not announced

Fiat has not released a price, battery size, power output, charging speed or range figure for the Koala, and no test cycle has been quoted for it. Nothing has been said about Australian availability or pricing either, so the car should be treated as a European launch for now.

The one firm date is 2027, with production at Pomigliano d'Arco. Everything else, from final styling to the number of Opel-badged siblings, remains open until Fiat publishes specifications.