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Yet another brand from Chinese car making giant Chery has kicked off production with a line of SUVs targeted at younger buyers.
The largest vehicle exporter from China, Chery, has introduced yet another brand to its catalogue with the first vehicle from youth-oriented Lepas completed in China.
The name Lepas is a combination of the words ‘leap’ and ‘passion’, according to a statement from Chery confirming the brand’s introduction in China and Europe from 2026.
It means Chery offers more than a dozen brands and sub-brand globally, from Chery vehicles to Exeed, Jetour, Omoda, Jaecoo, iCar, Kaiyi, Luxeed, Exlantix, Rely, Karry and Himla among others.
The Lepas SUV brand will target younger buyers than those of the family-focused Chery, its sub-brand Omoda, and Jaecoo makes are currently offered in Australian showrooms.
Lepas has not yet been officially confirmed for a local launch but it appears more likely than not given the brand’s ambitions.
“We currently don’t have any news to share about Lepas,” a spokesperson from Chery Australia told Drive. “However, we are reviewing a number of [undisclosed] international models for the Australian market.”
Targeting 500,000 annual sales globally, Automotive News Europe reports the Lepas brand is set to be offered in 27 countries by the end of 2025, with plans to increase this to 45 countries by 2027.
The first vehicle was a white Lepas L8 which rolled off the production line in Wuhu, Anhui Province, China, on April 18, 2025.
The L8 is a large SUV which will spearhead the launch of the Lepas brand globally and sit above the mid-size L6, small L4 and light L2 SUVs in the line-up.
They will all use the same T1X platform as the Chery Tiggo SUV line-up already offered in Australia and the Jaecoo J7 SUV, the first Jaecoo offered in local showrooms.
According to Automotive News Europe, the L2 will be battery-electric but the rest of the range will be offered with a choice of battery-electric, petrol-hybrid (non-plug-in) and petrol powertrain choices.
In the case of the petrol-hybrid version, Lepas will use the latest Chery ‘Super Hybrid System’ technology seen in the flagship Jaecoo J7 SHS Summit in Australia.
Chery has said the tech has seen a driving range of more than 1400km in real-world testing. The car maker already offers hybrids in China – using a newer E0X platform – with as much as 1500km range before refuelling.
The Chery brand in Australia is in the midst of an SUV onslaught, having confirmed the long-rumoured Chery Tiggo 4 hybrid for local showrooms.
It may also introduce non-plug-in hybrid versions of the Omoda 5 small SUV to the local line-up, with plug-in hybrid options for the Tiggo 7 Pro and Tiggo 8 Pro Max on the cards.
