FREELANDER 8, the first vehicle Chery’s FREELANDER brand plans to launch in the Middle East, has been fitted with Super Intelligent Valet Parking (SIVP), a feature that autonomously parks and retrieves the SUV through a smartphone app. The automaker showcased the technology at the Abu Dhabi Investment Forum, where Lucia Mao, CEO of FREELANDER International, framed it as part of the brand’s push to address real-world customer needs ahead of its international expansion. SIVP runs alongside an intelligent cockpit built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295P chip, and the company says the parking system was tuned specifically for the Middle East’s high summer temperatures.
Highlights
- SIVP lets owners drop the SUV off and summon it later through a mobile app, available in select international markets
- The company says the system is optimized for Middle East heat, cutting the time occupants spend outdoors during parking and pickup
- An intelligent cockpit powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295P chip handles connectivity and in-cabin interaction alongside SIVP
- FREELANDER is targeting entry into more than 90 countries with over 1,100 customer touchpoints within five years, starting in the Middle East
How SIVP Works
At destinations such as hotels, shopping malls, or business centers, drivers leave the FREELANDER 8 at a designated drop-off point. SIVP then completes the parking maneuver on its own — searching for a space, avoiding obstacles, and parking without driver input. To retrieve the vehicle, the owner summons it through the app, and the SUV drives itself to a designated pickup location.
The company positions the feature as a comfort measure as much as a convenience one: by handling the walk to and from a parking spot, SIVP is intended to reduce the time occupants spend outdoors in extreme heat — a condition the automaker cites as common across its target Middle East markets.
Part of a Broader Intelligent Technology Push
SIVP is one piece of what FREELANDER calls its “Smart Confidence” experience. The Snapdragon 8295P-based cockpit supplies the connectivity and interaction layer, while SIVP extends that intelligence into daily parking scenarios. Chery pairs both systems with the FREELANDER 8’s British-influenced exterior design, premium cabin, and Intelligent All-Terrain System (i-ATS) — three elements the brand is positioning as its core differentiators as it prepares to compete in international markets.
FREELANDER’s Middle East Debut
FREELANDER 8 is the brand’s first strategic model and its first vehicle slated for the Middle East, a market the company has designated as its initial stop in a broader global rollout. FREELANDER — a British Premium Intelligent All-Terrain brand co-developed by Chery and Jaguar Land Rover, with JLR leading design and Chery contributing technology and supply chain capability — says it employs more than 5,000 people across five strategic hubs. Preparations for the brand’s UAE launch are ongoing.
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