Lepas wants to challenge BYD and Tesla's dominance in the most important market segment in Europe

Unveiled at Milan Design Week, the new Lepas L6 has a specific goal in mind.

The US has trucks, China has EVs, but what about Europe?

When it comes to the European market, the segment this new L6 occupies is still king.

And this vehicle actually has an extra ace up its sleeve.

Europeans just love this type of vehicle

Historically, different markets have always bought different vehicles, and consumer preferences have always been highly regionalized.

In the US, people love trucks, obviously, but they also buy sedans, muscle cars and large SUVs.

In China, aside from EVs, it’s well known that buyers prioritize longer vehicles.

In fact, so many European automakers specifically make long-wheelbase variants of their vehicles for the Chinese market.

Then you’ve got Japan, where kei cars rule but customers are still buying old-school sports coupes; and the Middle East, which is surprisingly close to the US in terms of buying habits.

In places like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, large SUVs, generic but useful sedans, and pick-up trucks rule.

Along with unattainable supercars, obviously.

And what about Europe?

Even though buying habits can vary dramatically depending on where you are – Norway loves EVs, Italy certainly doesn’t, for example – there’s one thing they all have in common: they all want mid-size, practical SUVs.

This body type is absolutely dominant on the Old Continent, which explains why so many automakers have revived iconic nameplates and repurposed them as SUVs, or ‘crossover SUVs’, as some people call them.

Both the Ford Capri and Ford Puma, once ex-coupes, are now SUVs.

Even Mitsubishi gave it a go with the Eclipse Cross.

And now Lepas wants a piece of that particular pie.

Lepas has two aces up its sleeve

The Lepas L6 was specifically designed for the European market.

It is a mid-size SUV that’s available as an electric vehicle, but also as a hybrid, which is a smart move.

There are a lot of countries where EV skepticism is still prevalent, so having a hybrid option helps.

The Super Hybrid version offers 700 miles of combined range, coming from an electric motor and a 1.5-liter engine, while the BEV variant offers 270 miles from a 67 kWh battery.

The Lepas L6 is built on a platform that Chery Group (which owns Lepas) calls NEV – New Energy Vehicle – a modular platform designed to accommodate both pure electric powertrains as well as hybrids.

Range anxiety is still a thing, but Lepas has a solution: both models feature rapid-charging capability.

The BEV, for example, can charge from 30 to 80 percent in around 20 minutes.

Still not as fast as filling up a tank, but we’re getting there.

After the unveil at Milan Design Week, Lepas said the new L6 is set to be available in both the UK and continental Europe, deliveries are scheduled to commence in the final quarter of 2026.

While official pricing details are still TBA, we can expect competitive MSRPs across all target markets.