By FREDA LEWIS-STEMPEL, MOTORING REPORTER
Chery - China's largest car exporter - is bringing yet another brand to British roads.
Lepas, a three-way portmanteau of 'leopard', 'leap' and 'passion', will arrive in the UK in late summer and introduce a range of 'new energy vehicles' to dealerships when it does.
The Lepas brand was only revealed internationally last summer.
Conceived for the European market, Lepas will be the fourth brand that Chery has launched in under three years, following on from Omoda in 2024 and Jaecoo and Chery in 2025.
Lepas has yet to reveal details about its first model but Autocar reports that it will bring its L4 and L6 crossovers with combustion, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric powertrains.
Lepas, a three-way portmanteau of 'leopard', 'leap' and 'passion', is the latest SUV brand from Chinese car giant Chery to arrive in the UK
The Lepas news comes after Omoda and Jaecoo and Chery sales success last year: The group saw the fastest-ever rise from 0 to 5 per cent market share in Britain, with a combined 5.3 per cent group market share.
Chery sold 53,600 of those cars in 2025 in the UK, with the Chinese newcomer outselling BYD, Tesla and even Mini.
It also outstripped Japanese rivals including Honda and Mazda.
The brand will 'balance efficiency, comfort, and advanced technology'.
Lepas say it will 'blend elegant design with innovation, making every drive both practical and inspiring'.
If you're wondering what Lepas SUVs will look like compared to Chery's other three brands then we point you in the direction of Chery Tiggo cars.
Currently there doesn't look to be much difference between the Chery Tiggo models and Lepas models.
Lepas will launch in late summer, and bring a range of 'new energy vehicles' to market when it does
Lepas models look most like Tiggo SUVs but Chery has shown journalists a new look for Tiggos that will differentiate the two SUV brands.
While Tiggos will become chunkier, Omoda cars will start to look more aggressive.
Lepas already sells cars in markets, such as Malaysia and South Africa, where the Lepas L4, L6 and L8 SUVs are on sale and look almost identical to Chery's 7, 8 and 9 models.
But Lepas has confirmed its making an L1, L2 and L3 SUV which will be more bespoke - these could be the ones coming to the UK.
We're told that Lepas will reveal more information in the coming weeks, including which models will be arriving first, and the brand says it is in the process of a 'phased introduction'.
This includes 'leadership appointments, retailer plans and the brand's ambition to establish itself as a distinctive new presence in the UK market.'
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