Chery's Lepas brand to reveal all-new small hatchback with EV, PHEV options

Chery’s newest brand, Lepas, hasn’t even arrived in Australia yet, but it’s already talking about challenging big names like Toyota and Mazda in a segment that few Chinese automakers have tackled so far.

Lepas is set to officially arrive in local showrooms later this year with a pair of family-friendly battery-powered SUVs – first the mid-size L6 and, soon after that, the compact L4.

However, in an exclusive Expert Insights interview with CarExpert which will be published tomorrow, Chery Motor Australia’s chief operating officer and managing director Lucas Harris has confirmed Lepas will also enter the small hatchback segment by the end of next year with a yet-to-be-revealed model that will take on the likes of the Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3 and Kia K4.

It’s a slice of the market that has traditionally been dominated by established Japanese and Korean brands, and became Australia’s most popular new-vehicle sales segment for several years after the 2008 financial crisis.

Over the last decade, however, demand for small passenger vehicles has been in rapid decline and the market share of the segment dropped to an all-time low last month, at just 4.7 per cent.

Perhaps not surprisingly, only a handful of Chinese brands have dared to enter the small electric car segment in the last five years, with models such as the MG 4, BYD Dolphin, and GAC Aion UT.

They will soon be joined by the Leapmotor B05, while the smaller new Geely EX2 will battle the BYD Atto 1 in the light-car class.

The GWM Ora electric hatch has morphed into the Ora 5 electric SUV, but Nissan’s pioneering Leaf electric hatch is gone and its SUV replacement has been ruled out for Australia, at least for now.

However, Mr Harris is confident the unnamed Lepas hatch, which is expected to be available with a choice of fully electric and plug-in hybrid powertrain options, will offer something unique.

"I was at the factory a few weeks ago and saw the early pre-production model, and was really excited,” he told CarExpert.

“I think it's a really good, really attractive, sporty-looking little car that can answer a lot of questions in the market at the moment.”

While he provided no further details, Mr Harris said Lepas will apply a unique twist on traditional auto segments across its entire model range through the use of vibrant colours, bold exterior design treatments, and elegant interiors.

“I don't want to say that all SUVs are boring, but they are a bit bland,” he said.

“There are very few options out there that are a bit interesting or a bit exciting or a bit different. And, in fairness to the market, how many different ways can you draw a medium-sized SUV, right?

“That's where I think we can try and stretch the envelope with Lepas a little bit; by making the design more interesting and talking about the brand and having the brand show up in a way that is more colourful and more vibrant.

“We know that's not going to potentially be everyone's cup of tea, and that's by design.

“We have other brands to satisfy people that are looking for something more conservative. This is trying to capture a sort of part of the market which is in a bit of a white space and talk to people that aren't really being spoken to by anyone.”

Find out more about Lepas’ Australian plans in our exclusive Expert Insights interview tomorrow.

MORE: Explore the Lepas showroom