A new premium car brand targetting the UK’s “quiet middle”, LEPAS is preparing to launch this September with a strong foundation of around 50 dealerships.
And that is hoped to grow to 70 confirmed locations by the end of the year.
AM100 dealer groups including Arnold Clark Automobiles, Park’s Motor Group, Lithia UK’s Evans Halshaw division, Greenhous and Brindley Motor Group are among the launch franchisees, who will begin sales in September, with the first customers getting their cars in October.
LEPAS is the fourth Chery International brand to import new cars into the UK from China. Its launch model, the plug-in hybrid L8 SUV, will quickly be followed by two more SUVs, the L6 and the L4, giving the brand coverage in the B, C and D-segments by the end of 2026.
Then in 2027, along with expansion of the dealer network to about 90 locations, the LEPAS range will expand further with introduction of battery electric vehicle derivatives.
Ray Wang, managing director of LEPAS UK, told Automotive Management that the UK is the most important market in Europe for the company, and he sees a great opportunity here. Chery has already had great success with its Jaecoo brand, and LEPAS, created purely for European tastes, will be positioned similarly, with its other group brands Chery and Omoda beneath focused on the mainstream market.
“LEPAS enters the market as a credible alternative to the brands people are moving away from, not because they cannot afford them but because they no longer feel right for this age. LEPAS brings the part of premium people want, taste and confidence and quality without the baggage,” he said.
He conceded nevertheless that many of the traditional premium brand cars have become expensive and some customers are coming out of PCPs and facing an uplift in their monthly payments, so keenly priced new rivals do have that advantage.
Along with the attractive styling and quality materials, the technology on board LEPAS vehicles will be important to prospective buyers. The L8 PHEV, with Chery’s SuperHybrid powertrain, will be capable of up to 65 miles of zero emission electric-driven motoring and a total range of up to 800 miles per fuel tank.
Wang (pictured above) told Automotive Management that he’s also delighted to have so many AM100 dealer groups on board with the brand. It will target fleets as well as retail customers so the experience and capacity for maintaining the right experience as sales volume grows is an important factor.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that the LEPAS ownership experience is exceptional for every customer and so we are carefully curating our network so customer care always remains at its very heart.”
He added: “The fact that our first tranche of dealer partners includes some of the largest and best-known names in automotive retail underlines the excitement and confidence the industry has in LEPAS and the range of exciting models we will be rolling out.”
Most LEPAS dealerships will be standalone, to ensure the brand provides that premium experience it wants customers to receive.
All LEPAS cars will come with comprehensive aftersales support and seven-year/100,000-mile vehicle warranty alongside an 8-year/100,000-mile high-voltage battery warranty.