New Chinese brand Lepas has just opened its first UK dealership ahead of its new L8 plug-in hybrid SUV going on proper sale in the UK. 

The L8 has been open for pre-order since July, but if you haven’t got any dealers anywhere it’s a bit of an issue. 

The new showroom has opened in Wolverhampton close to the Molineux stadium (something to do with football I’m led to believe), the first of 60 the company hopes to get going before the end of the year. 

The six-car dealership in Wolverhampton is being run by the Brindley Group, which managed to get up and running in eight weeks. 

Ray Wang, the boss of Lepas UK said the showroom was a major milestone, and that there was a lot of rivalry when it came to being the first one open. “It’s been great to see the friendly competition taking place among our new retail partners as they all pulled out all the stops to try to be the first to open.”

Lepas is a sub-brand of the partly state-owned Chinese carmaker Chery, which also sells Omoda and Jaecoo branded cars in the UK. 

The collection of marques has been the most successful of the Chinese brands selling in the UK so far in 2026, beating even the efforts of MG and BYD, and Lepas will be hoping it can contribute to the family coffers. 

The new L8 (above), which we've already driven, will be the first Lepas to launch in the UK, in PHEV form first of all with an electric version to follow in early 2027. That car is based on the Chery Tiggo 8. 

Then there’s the Lepas L6 that arrives later this year, another take on the bestselling Jaecoo 7 and Omoda 7 combo. 

The third of Lepas’ slate of new launches will be the L4 (above), which was revealed at the Beijing motor show in April and is set to arrive in the UK in early 2027. That car is based on the Jaecoo 5/Omoda 5 cars. 

The Lepas name, in case you were wondering, is apparently a mash-up of 'leap', 'leopard' and 'passion', in case that makes you want to buy one more.