► Chery International confirms smaller cars on the way
► Enabled by upcoming new smaller platform
► Could be branded as Lepas, Chery or Omoda
Chery is set to launch new smaller cars to fight the European establishment, enabled by a new platform being developed for launch in the next couple of years.
At the official brand launch of Lepas during Milan Design Week 2026, Chery Group head of engineering Peter Matkin confirmed to CAR that the Chinese company is developing a smaller platform to enter more markets – including those closest to European brand’s hearts.
‘A bit like all other OEMs, everyone has shifted from the sedan into SUVS and so we’ve done the same,’ says Matkin. ‘It’s a big part of the Chinese market, but it’s also a big part of the Middle East, South America and other markets we export to – that’s what everyone is asking for.
‘My constant push to the international guys is: ‘hey, we’re missing 50 per cent of the European market because all of our cars are at least 4.2 or 4.3 metres long’ – we need to now compete in the below-four-metres space,’ he adds.
‘We can’t do everything at once, but I can promise you that will come very soon – I meet with the team daily on this programme,’ says Matkin. ‘We’re looking at a new architecture which can support below four metres – that will come in the future, but I can’t tell you when as we’ve just started working on this.’
Naturally a lot is unconfirmed about these new cars, opening up possibilities as to what brands they may be attached to. Chery or Lepas feel the best fit; Chery is a brand designed to be ‘family-oriented’ in Matkin’s own words, while Lepas is designed as a more premium offering. Matkin also describes Omoda as ‘a bit more sporty.’
Either way, Chery is unconcerned about having four brands in Europe compete and share in very close proximity to each other. Matkin says Chery has ‘no shame in having multiple brands.
‘If you look at the market segments today, I don’t think people care if they see a Volkswagen, Hyundai, Kia or Toyota,’ says Matkin. ‘They just see these models in this segment, and what we’re doing is adding to them. We may have a Lepas for this segment, an Omoda for that segment, a Jaecoo… so what? If what we’re delivering meets customer requirements, then we can’t argue it.’