Newly launched Chinese brand Lepas has revealed the details of its first EV that’s set to go on sale in the UK before the end of the year.
Orders for the firm’s first car, the L8 SUV, are already open, but the car is being sold as a plug-in hybrid first before an all-electric version joins the range next year.
The second car from Chery-owned Lepas, the L6, is a smaller electric SUV that comes with a 65kWh LFP battery and 279 miles of WLTP range.
There will be two trims available on the L6 – Essence and Elevate – we don’t know what the price of the new car will be yet, but we understand that the L6 EV is expected to start from around £32k.
The L6 comes with 120kW maximum charging speeds to get you from 30% to 80% charge in 22 minutes, and 217hp gets you from 0–62mph in 7.9secs. All fairly middle of the road numbers so far, but Lepas is more about the vibes than the high tech.
There’s a 13.2in touchscreen infotainment setup and digital instrument panel as standard, as well as cooled wireless phone charging and USB ports front and rear. All L6s get front and rear parking sensors and a panoramic camera setup too, along with adaptive cruise control, a panoramic sunroof, dual-zone aircon, keyless entry, plus heated seats and steering wheel.
There’s also 3.3kW V2L (vehicle to load) capability, where you can run electronics off the car’s battery, that will be included as standard. No mention of Apple or Android connectivity in the information we’ve seen so far, but we’d assume that’s an oversight until we hear otherwise.
You’ll upgrade the car to Elevate trim to get electrically adjustable, heated and ventilated front seats, as well as ambient cabin lighting, an electrically assisted tailgate and a fancier sound system from Sony.
Practicality-wise, there’s a 410-litre boot out back, that expands to 1,334 litres once you’ve knocked the back seats down. Lepas says that there’s another 99 litres of space underneath the boot floor if you want to squirrel anything away. But not an actual squirrel, because that would be cruel.
The L6 goes on sale in the fourth quarter of the year, says the company, which could mean anywhere between October and December – Lepas has a load of dealerships opening over the next couple of months, so it could be very soon.
