Chery’s Lepas plans product onslaught including Toyota Corolla, Kia EV9 rivals

Chery will launch its Lepas brand in October with a mid-size crossover SUV, and plans to rapidly expand its model lineup over the next two years.

The newcomer brand – which isn’t sold in China and is instead exclusive to export markets – previewed the new L6 EV to media in Sydney, alongside pre-production examples of the L6 and L8 in plug-in hybrid (PHEV) guise, and the L4 EV small SUV.

The brand says these are based on a new platform for the brand called LEX, though it's unclear how much this shares with existing Chery Group architectures.

Lepas says it will be "new energy-only" in Australia, though in addition to PHEVs and electric vehicles (EVs) it has at least one hybrid in its product pipeline. If you want pure petrol power, however, you’ll need to stick with Chery or Omoda Jaecoo.

After the mid-size L6 EV crossover SUV touches down in October, it’ll be followed shortly thereafter by the smaller L4 EV in December.

Both vehicles share a 65kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery and a 160kW/275Nm front-mounted electric motor.

They also share the same 2700mm wheelbase, however, the L4 EV ekes out slightly more range at 450km on the WLTP cycle, compared to 440km for the L6 EV. The L4 EV is 4420mm long and 1817mm wide, while the L6 EV is 4570mm long and 1852mm wide – matching them up neatly with the Chery E5 and Geely EX5, respectively.

Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions of the L6 and L4 will follow in March and June 2027, respectively.

The Lepas L8 will follow in September 2027, initially as a PHEV and with an as-yet unrevealed electric version following in 2028.

In PHEV guise, this larger SUV uses a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine mated with an 18.4kWh LFP battery, for 90km of electric range on the WLTP cycle and total system outputs of 205kW and 365Nm.

Lepas is calling the L8 a mid-size SUV, in contrast with sister brand Chery which calls its Tiggo 8 a large SUV. The two vehicles are similar in dimensions, with the Lepas L8 even sold in China as the Chery Tiggo 8.

Although the L8 is already available to order in markets such as the UK, where it has debuted the Lepas brand, it will be launched here after the smaller L4 and L6. Lepas has said the vehicles it showcased in Sydney were pre-production and that there may be further specification changes prior to launch.

The Lepas lineup will be bookended by two new models that the brand has yet to reveal.

A flagship large SUV, the L9, will arrive in Australia in the second half of 2027 in PHEV guise, with an electric version following in 2028.

While the Chery Group already offers a pair of large PHEV SUVs in Australia with the Chery Tiggo 9 and Jaecoo J8, it has yet to launch a large electric SUV here.

It's unclear whether this vehicle already exists in some form within the Chery Group's lineup, given the Lepas L6 is closely related to the Chery Fulwin T7 sold in China, sharing its body. A few larger SUVs exist under the Fulwin sub-brand, including the Fulwin T9L PHEV that features similar styling to the T7, as well as the T9 which is effectively the same vehicle as the Chery Tiggo 9 sold here.

None of Chery's brands in Australia currently offer a hatchback here, and that’s precisely how Lepas will stand out from its siblings.

It’ll launch the L2 hatchback in 2028, available with a choice of hybrid (not PHEV) or electric powertrains.

While Lepas hasn’t released any images of the L2, renders shown to CarExpert reveal the most muscular interpretation of the brand’s design language yet, with prominent haunches reminiscent of a Ferrari Purosangue or Xiaomi YU7 and a wide, Aston Martin-esque grille.

Unlike many other newcomer Chinese brands in Australia, Lepas will be able to tap an established backend infrastructure by being part of the Chery Group.

However, Lepas will sell its vehicles through separate dealerships from Chery and Omoda Jaecoo.

It may, however, use those brands’ outlets as service agents in areas where it lacks coverage. Lepas will have 40 dealerships at launch, though it plans to more than double that number with a projected 50 dealerships by the end of 2027.

Lepas has yet to announce pricing, and tamped down any talk of a ‘premium’ market positioning for the brand.

The brand also won’t reveal sales targets, but said it doesn’t expect to sell in the same volumes as its sibling brands.

“The target market that we're going after is a lot smaller than Chery, so we don't think it's going to sell the same volume as what the Chery brand is, but that's why we have the Chery brand, right?” Chery Motor Australia chief operating officer Lucas Harris told CarExpert.

“This is to find that more niche audience.”

While Lepas will bring the number of Chery brands operating in Australia to three when it’s launched in October, that number will swell to six by the end of 2027.

Chery Motor Australia will launch the iCaur and Freelander brands during 2027, with another brand within the Chery empire – Jetour – also planning a 2027 local launch with its own backend operation, including separate distribution.

MORE: Explore the Lepas showroom