Latest news with #Lepas
IOL News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- IOL News
Lepas L4 to enter South Africa's hotly contested compact SUV market in 2026
The Lepas L4 will reach South Africa in 2026. Image: Supplied Hot on the heels of the new Lepas brand's L8 flagship SUV, which made its global debut in June, the first example of the Lepas L4 compact SUV has rolled off the assembly line. As with the L8, the new L4 has been confirmed for South African introduction. The Chery-owned Lepas brand is set to debut locally in the first quarter of 2026. A midsize L6 model will also be launched globally, with local introduction also a possibility. Lepas has not yet released detailed specifications for its new L4 compact model, but reports from abroad indicate that it will be based on the Chery Tiggo Cross, which is known as the new-generation Tiggo 4 in most overseas markets. The L4 is the second Lepas model to enter production. Image: Supplied Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Power is likely to come from a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, and given Chery's new energy push, a hybrid version will surely be in the running too. Pricing points remain unknown at this stage, but Lepas models are expected to carry a premium over their Chery equivalents. "While we're keeping full details under wraps for now, the (Lepas) range has been designed to offer something for a variety of lifestyles; from dynamic city driving to larger, more versatile options for individuals and families who enjoy comfort, technology, elegance and of course style," Lepas South Africa's national brand manager Letitia Herold told IOL. "The LEPAS 8 will definitely be one of the highlights of the launch, offering a bold design and a premium experience, while the rest of the range brings together a fresh take on everyday mobility. "LEPAS is about confidence, colour and innovation, and we're looking forward to introducing a new kind of premium experience to the South African roads early next year," Herold added. The L4 boasts a similar aesthetic to its larger L8 sibling, with curvaceous contours that some might equate to a modern Jaguar vehicle, such as the F-Pace. From left: Lepas L4, L8 and L6. Image: Supplied Interestingly Lepas, whose name fuses 'Leap' and 'Passion' describes its design language as 'Leopard Aesthetics', inspired by the muscular lines of a leopard. Furthermore, the vertical-slit headlights, seen on both the L8 and L4, mimic a leopard's 'agile eyes'. The L8, as previously reported, will be offered on global markets with a choice of ICE, plug-in hybrid and fully electric variants. This includes the familiar 2.0-litre turbopetrol engine that powers the current Chery Tiggo 8 Pro. Chery Auto describes the Lepas brand as a vanguard of the company's globalisation strategy. 'The rapid growth of Lepas is inseparable from the strong strength of Chery Group. Relying on Chery's accumulation as 22 years as an export leader, the technical network of eight global R&D centres, and the fully integrated global R&D, production, and supply chain,' Chery Auto said. 'Lepas has had the confidence of 'technical trust from 16.3 million global users' since its inception. This all-dimensional capability of 'manufacturing-R&D-integration' has provided a solid guarantee for the rapid implementation of L4.' IOL Motoring
Zawya
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Zawya
Chinese luxury SUV brand Lepas to enter South Africa's market in 2026
Chinese carmaker Chery will expand its footprint in South Africa in 2026 with the launch of Lepas, a new premium SUV brand aimed at younger, style-driven consumers. Lepas, which made its global debut at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2025, is positioned as a design-led luxury brand combining advanced technology with expressive styling. Chery says the brand is targeted at drivers who want more than functionality from their vehicles, offering instead a blend of individuality, modern comfort, and purposeful design. In China, Lepas models feature the group's latest hybrid and electric drivetrain technologies, along with smart cockpit systems and connectivity features. The brand is expected to compete in the compact and mid-size SUV segments when it enters South Africa, adding pressure to established players in the premium crossover market. The move forms part of Chery's broader growth strategy in South Africa, where the company has already established its core Chery and Omoda lines and is preparing to launch its bakkie brand Jaecoo. Lepas will further extend the company's portfolio into the upper end of the market. Lepas joins a wave of new Chinese automotive brands expanding into South Africa on the back of strong demand for tech-rich, high-value vehicles. More details on local models and pricing are expected to be announced ahead of the official launch in 2026. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
IOL News
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
New Chinese premium brand Lepas confirmed for South Africa in 2026: here's what we know so far
Another Chinese car brand is set to compete for a slice of the action in South Africa's hotly contested car market, and it goes by the name of Lepas. Although it is a newly launched brand, Lepas forms part of the Chery stable, and it will aim to expand its parent company's presence in the premium segment. The automaker has confirmed that the Lepas brand will be launched in South Africa in 2026, spearheaded by the L8 flagship SUV that was revealed at the 2025 Chery Business Conference in Wuhu, China, in late April. Although the full South African line-up has yet to be confirmed, the L8 is likely to be joined by the smaller L6 and L4 models that were also previewed at the Wuhu event. In time, the brand will expand its line-up to five vehicles, with the aim of achieving annual global sales of more than 500,000 units, Autostat reports.
New Straits Times
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
Chery unveils global plans at Auto Shanghai 2025
MAJOR plans by Chery were unveiled at the recent Auto Shanghai 2025 (AS2025) motorshow in China, with Malaysia being a key partner in its expansion. The Chinese automaker has set its sights on the ambitious task of selling one million vehicles within two years as it aims to join the ranks of the world's top 10 automotive brands. This was a larger part of its "Navigating the Future" initiative, which was accompanied by the brand's expanded roadmap for the years ahead, the announcement of new brands, its latest products, and strategic initiatives. New models, powertrain Hybrid technology in particular will form a cornerstone of its global growth strategy. The Chery Super Hybrid (CSH) system, along with its Guardian Battery Safety Protection System, features an all-domain architecture powered by a fifth-generation dedicated hybrid engine which has achieved a possible combined range of 1,400 km and fuel efficiency of just 4.2L/100km in charge depleting mode. It also plays a larger part in diversifying Chery's powertrain portfolio between gasoline, hybrid, electric and beyond. The technology was seen applied to update Chery's existing models as with its new ones on display at the Shanghai autoshow which includes the Tiggo 4 (known as the new Tiggo Cross in Malaysia), Tiggo 7, Tiggo 8, Tiggo 9 and Arrizo 8. Both Tiggo Cross and the CSH system made their local debut at the ongoing Malaysia Autoshow 2025 (MAS2025) in Serdang, Selangor. Malaysians will also possibly see new models of the Tiggo 7 Pro and Tiggo 8 come available in a hybrid powertrain setup, particularly as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The addition of the Tiggo Cross CSH will also expand the Tiggo line-up to three models while the new powertrain update will mean all of Chery's Tiggo models are available as hybrids. Chery's next evolution also includes a stronger push into electrification, multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) and pickup trucks. The latter was a highlight at the Auto Shanghai 2025 with the global debut of the all-new HIMLA pickup series with no official word if it would enter Malaysia. Lepas, iCaur Chery's two new brands also made their mark at both the AS2025 and 2025 International Business Summit with the latter held in Wuhu, Anhui. New automotive brand Lepas made its global debut during this period, alongside the preview of its first model which is the sports utility vehicle (SUV) L8. Lepas' name which comes as a fusion between the words 'Leap' and 'Passion' is built on four key pillars - leopard aesthetic design, luxurious space, intelligent safety and Chery Super Hybrid technology. Lepas plays a central role in Chery's next phase of global development and is positioned to embody the brand's vision of "elegant mobility" through a fusion of cutting-edge intelligent technology and refined aesthetic design. Chery International president Zhang Guibing announced the L8 is slated for an official global launch in December 2025 and is part of the five models that will be introduced over the next three years. This will be followed by the L6 and the L4, with Lepas targeting the establishment of 1,200 global sales outlets as it aims to reach an annual production and sales of 500,000 units. The other brand to take the sportlight was iCaur which is known as iCar in China. A result through the collaboration between Chery and Smartmi Tech, the brand introduced its new V23 model which is the brand's first global model that is built upon a new vehicle platform that houses either a 59.93-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery with a range of 401 km (CLTC standard) or a 81.76-kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) unit that delivers 550 km. The brand's expanding global lineup includes both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs) that come in a variety of styles that are mostly off-road-capable. iCaur plans to expand rapidly by reaching over 100 countries in the next three years and setting up more than 2,000 service and sales centres worldwide. ICaur as with the V23 officially entered Malaysia at MAS2025 with no official announcement when Lepas would enter our market. Headway in AI technology AI technology will also play a major role in Chery's growth as the company has been continually showcasing the capabilities of its Aimoga robots and robotic dogs by demonstrating its real-world applications from the likes of vehicle support services, visual tracking, and flash mob dance routines. Chery's AI-powered Aimoga humanoid robot was created through the technical partnership of Chery Aimoga Robotics' research and development team with DeepSeek. Utilising Nvidia H800 chips, the Aimoga robots have integrated DeepSeek's V2, V3, and R1 open-source models into their robot cloud platform to power the interaction systems for Chery store marketing robots. Initially designed for real-world applications such as assisting in car sales assistance and vehicle support services, the Aimoga is also capable of visual tracking and flash mob dance routines. An investment of 100 million renminbi (about RM60 million) was poured into the mass production for Aimoga robots. The first 220 of Aimogas have officially been delivered to customers in a handover event held in Wuhu, China during this same period. Moving forward, Chery aims to integrate the development of the Internet and automotive intelligence to create an intelligent mobility ecosystem centered on human-robot-vehicle collaboration. This vision aligns with its long-term goal of evolving it into a home-based intelligent terminal.
The Citizen
10-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Citizen
PODCAST: Where new Lepas brand will fit into Chery strategy
The Lepas L8 SUV is expected to make its South African debut by early next year. China carmaker Chery is set to introduce yet another new brand to South Africa in the form of Lepas early next year. Lepas will follow in the footsteps of Omoda and Jaecoo, two Chery brands which share a dealership floors but each has its own identity, and iCaur, which is set to be formally introduced locally this year. Another brand associated with Chery, Jetour, is operated entirely independently. Lepas makes a Pitstop In this week's episode of The Citizen Motoring's Pitstop podcast, we take a closer look at Lepas. We attended the world premiere of its first model, the L8 SUV, in Wuhu, China last month. In the overall Chery strategy, Lepas will take aim at Mazda in offering 'soft and sleek' cars. The core Chery models rival Toyota, Hyundai, VW and MG, Omoda and Jaecoo rival Kia and BYD and iCaur will target Jeep. Chery says the Tiggo Pro family SUVs cater to a moderate and traditional buyer, while Lepas is aimed at younger buyers with a fashion sense. Lepas is a combination of the words 'leopard' and 'passion.' Chery says the car's shoulder lines were sculpted on the contours of an American leopard, and its LED headlights resemble the eyes of the said leopard. Innovative cabin options The Lepas L8 goes into production at the end of the year. It should be rolled out locally by early next year. Smaller L6 and L4 models are set to follow the L8. ALSO READ: New Chery-owned brand Lepas launched, coming to South Africa The L8's configurable cabin enables the driver's seat to be almost fully reclined to create what Chery calls 'Nap Mode'. The front seats can also be reclined, along with a pull-down screen providing what is called 'Cinema Mode'. 'Sleeping Mode' provides a double bed with the rear seats folded down, and the dashboard double acting as a headrest. No powertrain details were divulged.
