Greetings from Wuhu, China. We’re attending the 2025 Chery International Business Summit where Chery has introduced its latest sub-brand, Lepas. Much like how Jaecoo and Omoda have their own identity, Lepas will be similar.
Further separating them apart is Lepas’ inspiration from leopards. Yes, leopards. Ivan Dulanovic, Chief Designer at Lepas said, “At the early stages of design, the image of a running leopard inspired the vehicle’s shape. The leopard embodies not only power but also agility and flexibility.”
The Lepas L8 that you see here is their flagship SUV, measuring 4,688 mm in length, 1,860 mm in width, and 1,695 mm in height. Its wheelbase is 2,800 mm long. While the Lepas L8 is shorter in length than stablemate Jaecoo J7, its wheelbase comfortably eclipses the J7.
During the global debut, Lepas did not provide specifics into powertrain details, but they did mention that the Lepas range of SUVs will be offered as a battery electric vehicle (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), or even a regular internal combustion engine (ICE).
On the powertrain front, the Lepas L8 could be receiving Chery’s Super Hybrid System (SHS), with a claimed thermal efficiency of more than 46%, whilst consuming less than 4.5 L/100 km. The range is said to be more than 1,300 km under the WLTP test cycle.
Additionally, the Lepas L8 in its EV form, claims to consume as little as 12 kWh/100 km, as well as offering a range of more than 700 km (test cycle not mentioned). A quick 5-minute charge would provide a 150 km range.
Other highlights of the Lepas L8 include a large 13.2-inch infotainment display, powered by the now-standard Snapdragon 8155 system-on-chip (SoC), Auto Park Assist (APA), Remote Park Assist (RPA) and class-leading 970 mm rear legroom.
Seeing the success of Jaecoo and Omoda overseas, Chery has ambitious plans for Lepas as well. The Wuhu-based company aims to establish more than 1,200 stores globally over the next three years, and Malaysia will be part of Lepas’ markets.
In addition to debuting the Lepas L8, the new company also took the opportunity to showcase the Lepas L4 and L6, two smaller models that will be debuting in the near future.
