Lepas will join BYD’s premium brand, Denza, in making its official UK debut at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Owned by Chery, China’s third largest car manufacturer, Lepas’s first car to hit British shores will be the L8 SUV, which is available as either a mild or plug-in hybrid (PHEV).
Lepas’s answer to PHEV versions of the Renault Rafale, Kia Sportage, and Skoda Kodiaq will be on display at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed’s First Glance Paddock for the duration of the event, which begins on July 9 and ends on July 12.
The L8 will be driven up Goodwood’s 1.16-mile hillclimb course by the brand’s very own ‘Cat Woman’, professional racing driver, Sasha Brunton, who will be wearing a specially commissioned leopard print race suit and helmet.
For reference, the feline association derives from the Lepas name, which is a portmanteau of ‘leopard’ and ‘passion’.
Ahead of the car’s UK debut next week, Lepas’s UK managing director, Roy Wang, commented: “We couldn’t have picked a better or more exciting event at which to finally introduce the UK public to the Lepas brand and to showcase our first model, the L8 SUV.
“The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an event of global significance in the automotive calendar and one of the highlights of the summer in Britain. We can’t wait to be there and to properly begin our journey in this country.”
He added, “the L8 is just the beginning of the Lepas story. We have two more models – the L6 C-SUV and L4 B-SUV arriving soon, with a choice of either a highly efficient plug-in hybrid or a fully-electric powertrain, followed by an all-electric L8 and then more to come.
“We also have dozens of showrooms opening nationwide in the next quarter, with around 100 dealers up and running by the end of 2027, so it’s safe to say that people will be hearing a lot more from us.”
The Lepas L8 has been designed and engineered in Europe to suit local markets, and is available in two trim levels: The £34,900 Essence, and the £37,900 Elevate.
The L8’s hybrid system has a 1.5-litre petrol engine mated to an 18.4kWh battery, which can be charged from 30-80% in 20 minutes, and provides an electric-only range of 56 miles. The combined range is 745 miles.
Lepas is a sister company to the highly successful Omoda and Jaecoo brands, and will introduce a second car, the smaller L6 SUV, to its line-up by the end of this year.
