Lepas’s second UK model has been confirmed as the new L6 EV, with the Chinese brand confirming a 279-mile range, lashings of kit and order books opening before the end of the year.The L6 follows the larger L8 plug-in hybrid into Britain and gives Lepas its first fully electric model here. And if the Lepas name is still unfamiliar, the family behind it certainly shouldn’t be: it’s the fourth UK brand from Chinese giant Chery, following Omoda, Jaecoo and Chery itself, with the Jaecoo 7 already establishing itself as one of the country’s biggest sellers – it was even the UK’s best-selling car in March. Lepas is taking a slightly different approach, though, putting more emphasis on design, with the L6 the next part of what’s shaping up to be a busy launch programme.The important numbers are now confirmed. Every UK L6 gets a 65kWh battery and a single electric motor driving the front wheels with 215bhp and 275Nm of torque. That’s enough for 0-62mph in 7.9 seconds and a top speed of 111mph, while the official claimed range is up to 279 miles.Rapid charging peaks at 120kW, with Lepas claiming a 30 to 80 per cent top-up takes around 22 minutes – although that’s a bit short of the more commonly quoted 10 to 80 per cent charging window. There’s no price yet – expect it to start in the region of £30,000 – but order books are due to open early in the fourth quarter of 2026.Like the L8, the Lepas L6 gets a Porsche Cayenne-style rear end (Lepas)There’ll be two versions, called Essence and Elevate, and the entry-level Essence comes with a long standard kit list. Both get 19-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, a panoramic glass roof, dual-zone climate control, a heated steering wheel, heated windscreen and keyless entry and starting. There’s also a 13.2-inch central touchscreen and an 8.88-inch digital display for the driver, plus 50W wireless phone charging with active cooling, USB connections front and rear and a six-speaker sound system. A voice assistant can also control various car functions when you say “Hello Lepas”.The Elevate trim level swaps the sound system for an eight-speaker Sony set-up and adds heated and ventilated front seats, electric adjustment for both front seats, extra lumbar adjustment for the driver, leather-effect trim, a powered tailgate and 256-colour ambient lighting. Elevate also gets extra parking assistance on top of the front and rear sensors, while a a 540-degree camera is fitted to both models. Lepas says there are no fewer than 22 driver assistance functions as standard, including automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane keeping help and systems that can warn about traffic crossing behind the car.The L6 is 4,570mm long, 1,852mm wide without the mirrors and 1,676mm high, making it a little larger than a Nissan Qashqai, so sitting right in the thick of the family SUV market. Its long 2,700mm wheelbase helps free up cabin space and there’s a flat floor making things more spacious for rear passengers, while the boot holds 410 litres with the rear seats up or 1,334 litres with them folded. There’s another 99 litres of storage hidden under the boot floor, giving charging cables and other bits somewhere to live away from the main luggage area.And, yes, as you might have guessed by the name there’s a leopard theme. Lepas is a mash-up of “leopard” and “passion”, and the company says the L6’s styling follows its Leopard aesthetics idea. The headlights are called Hunting Eye lamps, the body shape is said to take inspiration from a leopard in motion and even the wider stance is part of the same cat-like story. Buyers can choose Solar orange or Supernova purple paintwork, alongside Phantom grey, Cosmic black and Quicksilver, all at £500. Lucid white is the no-cost colour.The Lepas L6 offers premium looks and kit levels for less – as it is doing with the plug-in hybrid L8 (Lepas)Underneath, Lepas says the L6 has been developed with input from its European chassis team to suit European roads, with changes aimed at giving it a comfortable ride and predictable handling. It also gets a braking system designed to more smoothly blend normal braking with energy recovery, and reduce the pitching feeling that can sometimes come with an EV. There’s also a 3.3kW vehicle-to-load function, so the car’s battery can run electrical equipment when you’re away from a plug – useful for camping or other kit that needs mains power.There’s strong warranty cover, running to seven years or 100,000 miles for the car and eight years or 100,000 miles for the high-voltage battery. There’s also roadside assistance for the first year, which can be renewed for up to seven years if servicing is carried out through the Lepas network. Software can be updated remotely over the air, and the company has a goal of offering cars in 60 UK dealerships by the end of 2026, rising to 90 by the end of 2027.The new Lepas L4 will be the third SUV from the new Chery Group brand to arrive in the UK (Steve Fowler)The L8 and L6 are only part of the Lepas plan. Next up should be the smaller L4 EV, which I saw at Chery’s home in China earlier this year. At just over four metres long it’s another compact electric SUV, and one that’ll broaden Lepas’s range below the L6 when it arrives after it. Beyond that, an even smaller model is expected, possibly called Lepas 2. I’ve secretly seen that car, too, and it’s a stunning-looking little thing that could give Lepas a properly appealing supermini-sized entry point when it reaches Britain.But that’s not all – there’s even more in the pipeline. An all-electric version of the big L8 is expected at some stage, while a plug-in hybrid L6 is also possible, giving Lepas a mix of electric and hybrid models as it builds its UK line-up and dealer network.