19:30 08-05-2026

Chery's Lepas Subbrand to Launch in Malaysia with L4 and L6 in 2026

Chery's Lepas subbrand to debut in Malaysia in Q3 2026 with L4 and L6 crossovers. The name poses a pronunciation challenge as 'lipas' means cockroach in Malay.

Chery is getting ready to launch its subbrand Lepas in Malaysia. According to a local report, the brand's official market debut is slated for the third quarter of 2026. Initially, the focus will be on the Lepas L4 and L6 crossovers.

There's more to this story than just the vehicles themselves—the brand name has sparked some curiosity. After Lepas was revealed at Auto Shanghai 2025, Chery explained that the name combines the English words "leap" and "passion" and suggested it be pronounced "lip-pas." But various videos since then have shown different pronunciations.

In Malaysia, that nuance matters. In Malay and Indonesian, a similar pronunciation can sound like "lipas," which means "cockroach." So Lepas Malaysia clarified that locally, the name should be pronounced like the Malay word "lepas," meaning "after" or "let go."

The company has already signed up around 20 dealers and aims to expand that network to 30 by year-end. A container with Lepas branding was spotted at Port Klang, and a camo-free L4 crossover was seen being filmed in Malaysia.

Currently, Lepas offers three models: the L4, L6, and L8. These are B-, C-, and D-segment SUVs, positioned close to the Chery Tiggo Cross, Tiggo 7, and Tiggo 8, respectively. The L8 was initially considered for Malaysia, but the latest intel suggests the L4 and L6 will be the first to arrive.