What's the difference?
The Chery has most definitely popped and the Australian launch of new brand, Lepas, is only the start of what’s to come in 2027.
The Lepas L6 EV is the brand’s first entrant locally and it’s an electric mid-size SUV rival to the likes of the BYD Atto 3 Evo, Geely EX5, Hyundai Elexio, Kia EV5 and Leapmotor C10. The list goes on…
Lepas is doing everything it can to stand out on its own from the namesake Chery, as well as the Omoda Jaecoo brands in Australia. It’s also set to have its own dealer network.
Is the L6 EV a worthy addition to the Chery Group stable? Read on to find out.
BYD. The three letters which keep auto executives from the world's top brands up at night.
The brand’s meteoric rise in Australia from a trickle of imports to a torrent of Chinese-built EVs, outselling even Tesla in the first month of 2024, is testament to this relative newcomer’s ability to surprise and impress its buyers and the industry as a whole.
The car we’re looking at for this review, the Seal, could be its biggest challenge yet. Not only does it have to compete head-to-head with the car which put EVs on the map for mainstream buyers - the Tesla Model 3 - but it also has to vie for a share of the increasingly shrinking sedan market.
So, what’s the deal with the Seal? Is it any good? And, why did BYD choose to name it after a marine mammal? Read on to find out.
Chery really doesn’t need any more brands in Australia, but here is Lepas, anyway.
While the L6 EV is rather characterless, it’s arguably the best Chery Group vehicle I’ve experienced to date. You can tell a lot of work has been put into localising it and as an electric mid-size SUV, it’s a pragmatic choice.
Those big auto executives have good reason to be worried, because the Seal is yet another impressive offering from China’s most formidable EV player.
It’s not perfect. In some ways it’s trying too hard to be a luxury car, and I think the software in particular could use a little work, but the Seal just does so much right I think it will be hard to be disappointed with one, particularly given its keen entry price.
In fact, if we had to pick one from the range, it would probably be this mid-spec Premium. The range and power on offer are stellar, and all for less money than an entry-level Model 3 or Polestar 2.