Chery Group brand Lepas has shown off a sporty concept that indicates a potential shift away from the group’s near-total focus on SUVs.
The Lepas Aura is a two-door shooting brake with chunky body volumes and a slimline cabin that previews a new design language for the newcomer brand.
Lepas is a sister brand to Jaecoo and Omoda that only started delivering cars to UK customers in September. However, parent Chery has the same ambition for the brand that has already put the group’s combined market share ahead of Hyundai-Kia’s for September in the UK, including delivering the UK’s best-selling car in the Jaecoo 7.
The Lepas name is a portmanteau of leopard and passion, and the brand says the Aura takes its inspiration from how a leopard moves, holding tension in its muscles.
The car’s long wheelbase, short overhangs and wide stance give the sense of a car ready to quickly accelerate, bringing a sense of sportiness to a brand that so far has concentrated on family SUVs.
Of the 739 cars Lepas sold in the UK in September, the majority were the L8 large plug-in hybrid SUV, with sales of the smaller L6 starting this month. Lepas cars use the same T1X platform as other Chery Group model lines, including the Tiggo SUV models.
Lepas pitches itself as slightly more upmarket than the Jaecoo, Chery and Omoda brands, with softer designs and a more premium interior trim. Unlike the upright Jaecoo SUVs and increasingly angular Omoda models, Lepas describes as itself as ‘elegance without edges’.
The Aura takes this idea further with rounded, sculptured forms with no sharp bodyside creases.
The headlights of the Aura incorporate the ‘leopard eye’ signature that all Lepas models have, while the blank grille can display graphics, lighting and animations tailored to reflect the mood of the driver. The taillight displays on the elliptical rear screen can also be personalized.
The front grille with its darkened blanked off grille and dramatic, wide-mouthed frame will carry through to future Lepas models.
The car was shown at Chery Group’s week-long event at its HQ in Wuhu, China, where it also revealed the new Tiggo X7 and Omoda X SUVs, which take a more rugged and lifestyle-oriented approach.