During this year’s Auto Shanghai, Chery launched its new sub-brand called Lepas that will be introduced in global markets. The name fuses the words ‘leap’ and ‘passion’, so it should be pronounced as ‘leap-pass’ and not ‘le-pas’.
Models under the Lepas banner are designed following what the company calls ‘Leopard Aesthetic’. Key cues include slim daytime running lights that are meant to evoke a leopard’s focused eyes, while the sides feature three distinctive lines that point to the muscles of the big cat’s front arms, hind legs and lower abdomen. Meanwhile, the company says the smooth and simple surfacing are inspired by pottery.
Our sister site paultan.org/BM, which was present for the Lepas preview, also pointed out that the interior design is inspired by the Earth’s sky and sports a simple dashboard. A flowing centre console with a large, portrait-format touchscreen is meant to represent a waterfall following downwards. Premium-touch fabrics are also used on the door cards and dashboard, with the texture said to be “as soft as a baby’s skin.”
Emotive descriptions aside, the first Lepas model to begin production is the L8, an SUV measuring 4,688 mm long, 1,860 mm, 1,695 mm tall and with a wheelbase of 2,800 mm. The L8 is in the same D-segment class as Chery’s Tiggo 8, with both sharing the same platform.
Commonality is a recurring theme for Chery, as the L8’s T1X platform is also used by Chery Tiggo 7, Omoda C7 and Jaecoo J7. As such, the L8 will have access to a wide range of powertrains, including a plug-in hybrid setup you see here, along with petrol-only, hybrid and fully electric options.
Sales of the L8 will begin later this year, and the SUV will be joined by two smaller models called the L6 and L4, which are twins to the Chery Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 4 respectively. Lepas deputy CEO Zhong Wei also revealed there will be two sedan models on the way, and the line-up will include even smaller cars like the L3, L2 and L1, as per what was said during the Chery International Business Summit. The brand intends to sell 500,000 units globally within three years of its launch.
For now, it isn’t known if the Lepas brand will be brought to Malaysia, although our sister site’s presence at the official media preview hints that this could happen. According to Kompas, the L8 has already been confirmed for Indonesia and will be launched there in either Q2 or Q3.
GALLERY: Lepas L8
GALLERY: Lepas L6
GALLERY: Lepas L4
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Chery top mgmt , please read this !
Oh man! Please tweak the name slightly to “Lipas”,
Changed the emblem to cockroach .
How hilarious this Chinese automakers are getting … if you can’t named your product properly . It only leads to nowhere .
Maybe we should start creating a sub-brand challenger name Lipas or our fan favorite Lepas Tangan.
Lepas ni ada banyak lagi sub-brand.
Hmm… Really too many sub brand, and most of these design are mix and match with many other brands. This one is a little bit of Hyundai, Porsche, Jaguar cook together, there you have it…
Lipas?
does seem to carry the Lipas design language. LOL.
Main lepas je korang ..
Lepas 2?
Lepas? Hehehehe :D
nak beli Lepas, tapi loan tak lepas
Truly Lipas macam parasit masuk banyak banyak kasi banjir jalan raya dengan sub standret betul tak say cakap
Chery, the unrivaled king of confusion, in the field of English naming of cars…even worst than Geely.
Early on, from Fulwin to Cowin, and now Exeed morphing into Luxeed, perhaps soon to give way to Suxeed…what!
And what about “Reaolq” for the pickup truck…am not even going there.
It’s mind boggling, especially to its new customers.
But Chery does currently have some English speaking foreign employees, yet it really needs a whole separate “Naming Department”, staffed by a group of (first language) English speakers…, ones with an automotive background, and hailing from various English speaking countries.
Otherwise, just leave the original Chinese names alone, forcing us all to get used to them, and hoping for the best, as its country’s cars continue to surge ahead in efforts to dominate the global market.