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Chery is working on another new car brand for Australia, and it is poised to field electric cars alongside its plug-in hybrids.
Electric Cars
Lepas, the latest offshoot of Chinese car giant Chery, has revealed its first two electric vehicles ahead of the brand’s Australian debut by the end of this year.
The Lepas marque is due in local showrooms in the second half of 2026, claimed to be more “elegant” than the regular Chery, sleeker Omoda and Range Rover-lookalike Jaecoo marques, and offering a range of part- and fully-electric SUVs.
Now it has shown electric version of the L4 and L6 at the Beijing motor show, as rivals for models from the compact BYD Atto 2 to the mid-size Geely EX5.
Australian arrival plans for the electric cars are due to be confirmed imminently, but it is expected both will be sold locally, alongside plug-in hybrid versions of the L8 and, potentially, its smaller siblings.
Little to no technical details of the L4 and L6 EVs have been published, and most of the information published online to date is sourced from a preview of the cars in Thailand earlier this year.
The L4 is a rebadged version of the Chery Tiggo 5 sold in China, while the L6 shares visual cues with other Chery Tiggo SUV models.
The car maker says, however, that the L4 and L6 ride on a new LEX architecture that enables more advanced electrified technologies than the older 'T1X' chassis below the likes of the Chery Tiggo 7, and Jaecoo J5 and J7.
While petrol and plug-in hybrid versions of the L4 and L6 receive large front grilles with split-level LED headlights and black inserts, electric grades gain single-piece headlights and new front bumpers with body-coloured upper panels.
Inside, the cars appear to share portrait infotainment touchscreens and a small digital instrument cluster, plus leather-look seat upholstery and climate control.
The L4 EV borrows its steering wheel from the Omoda and Jaecoo range, and fits physical switches for the air conditioning, while the L6 EV uses a Chery steering wheel, and focuses on touch controls.
Overseas specifications for the L6 EV list a 67.1kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack, paired with a 178kW/275Nm electric motor for driving range ratings of 510km in NEDC testing, or 435km under tougher WLTP protocols.
It is claimed to recharge from 30 to 80 per cent capacity in about 20 minutes, reportedly at up to 120kW DC, with 6.6kW AC also expected to be available.
Meanwhile, Lepas has confirmed the L4 EV is powered by a 160kW front electric motor, and claims 500km of driving range in unspecified testing conditions.
Details of battery capacity, chemistry and charging power for the L4 EV are yet to be published.
More details on the Australian rollout of the Lepas brand are expected in the coming days, as Drive is in China for a preview of the models it is likely to launch.
Electric Cars Guide
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
