By Otsile Kadiege

Last year, Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. added yet another automotive sub-brand to its ever-growing catalogue. The new brand is known as Lepas, and it made its global debut at the 2025 Chery Business Conference in late April. Lepas will be launching soon in South Africa, and its first model will be a premium, flagship SUV called the L8.

Mix Masala exterior design and styling

The exterior design and styling of the new L8 are, of course, heavily influenced by other Chery models like the Tiggo 8, which it’s based on, as well as design cues inspired by other automotive brands. Up front, the L8 boasts aggressive-looking LED daytime running lights—reminiscent of those seen on Mazda concept cars—a large radiator grille with a Lepas badge in the centre, and split full-LED headlights.

In profile, the L8 features flush door handles, body-coloured mirror caps, and gloss black door frames and roof rails. It’s also fitted with JAECOO J7-inspired 19-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels. At the rear, the L8 gets a Porsche Macan-inspired LED light bar, full-LED taillights, “LEPAS” lettering on the tailgate, and a contrasting rear bumper.

The L8 measures 4,688 mm long, 1,860 mm wide, 1,695 mm tall, and has a wheelbase of 2,800 mm.

Simple and premium interior design
Inside, the L8 oozes modern, minimalist luxury. Highlights include a dual-tone interior, a flat-top/flat-bottom multifunction steering wheel, a large Mercedes-Benz-inspired portrait touchscreen with a reworked infotainment system sourced from the JAECOO J7, plush leather seats and door panels, a large panoramic sunroof, a wireless charging pad on the centre console, as well as shortcut buttons and a rotary dial.

Safety features and advanced driver assistance systems
Lepas has yet to share the active and passive safety features of the L8. However, since it’s based on the popular Tiggo 8 Pro Max, the L8 might also feature the same suite of safety and ADAS technologies that helped the Tiggo 8 earn a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

These include front, front side, rear bolster, driver knee, and side curtain airbags, adaptive cruise control (ACC), autonomous emergency braking (AEB), and lane-keeping assistance (LKA), to mention a few. New to the updated Tiggo 8 Pro Max are a DVR (driver view recorder) built-in dashcam and an AVM (all-view monitor) camera.

Powertrains
Lepas South Africa has yet to share the powertrain details of the L8. That said, it will be available with both a petrol engine and a plug-in hybrid variant—both most likely developed in-house.

Considering that the L8 is based on the Tiggo 8 Pro Max, it will probably use the T1X platform, which has been designed to accommodate NEVs (New Energy Vehicles). This means we might see an all-electric L8 in the future.

Target market and plans for South Africa
According to the brand, their vehicles are aimed at younger, style-conscious drivers seeking more than just mobility. Lepas South Africa will share more details regarding their local strategy—including their dealer network, parts warehouse, pricing, model range, future Lepas models, warranty, and service plan—throughout the year or at the official launch of the L8.