Lepas L4 to enter South Africa's hotly contested compact SUV market in 2026
Image: Supplied
Hot on the heels of the new Lepas brand's L8 flagship SUV, which made its global debut in June, the first example of the Lepas L4 compact SUV has rolled off the assembly line.
As with the L8, the new L4 has been confirmed for South African introduction. The Chery-owned Lepas brand is set to debut locally in the first quarter of 2026. A midsize L6 model will also be launched globally, with local introduction also a possibility.
Lepas has not yet released detailed specifications for its new L4 compact model, but reports from abroad indicate that it will be based on the Chery Tiggo Cross, which is known as the new-generation Tiggo 4 in most overseas markets.
The L4 is the second Lepas model to enter production.
Image: Supplied
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Ad Loading
Power is likely to come from a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, and given Chery's new energy push, a hybrid version will surely be in the running too.
Pricing points remain unknown at this stage, but Lepas models are expected to carry a premium over their Chery equivalents.
"While we're keeping full details under wraps for now, the (Lepas) range has been designed to offer something for a variety of lifestyles; from dynamic city driving to larger, more versatile options for individuals and families who enjoy comfort, technology, elegance and of course style," Lepas South Africa's national brand manager Letitia Herold told IOL.
"The LEPAS 8 will definitely be one of the highlights of the launch, offering a bold design and a premium experience, while the rest of the range brings together a fresh take on everyday mobility.
"LEPAS is about confidence, colour and innovation, and we're looking forward to introducing a new kind of premium experience to the South African roads early next year," Herold added.
The L4 boasts a similar aesthetic to its larger L8 sibling, with curvaceous contours that some might equate to a modern Jaguar vehicle, such as the F-Pace.
From left: Lepas L4, L8 and L6.
Image: Supplied
Interestingly Lepas, whose name fuses 'Leap' and 'Passion' describes its design language as 'Leopard Aesthetics', inspired by the muscular lines of a leopard. Furthermore, the vertical-slit headlights, seen on both the L8 and L4, mimic a leopard's 'agile eyes'.
The L8, as previously reported, will be offered on global markets with a choice of ICE, plug-in hybrid and fully electric variants. This includes the familiar 2.0-litre turbopetrol engine that powers the current Chery Tiggo 8 Pro.
Chery Auto describes the Lepas brand as a vanguard of the company's globalisation strategy.
'The rapid growth of Lepas is inseparable from the strong strength of Chery Group. Relying on Chery's accumulation as 22 years as an export leader, the technical network of eight global R&D centres, and the fully integrated global R&D, production, and supply chain,' Chery Auto said.
'Lepas has had the confidence of 'technical trust from 16.3 million global users' since its inception. This all-dimensional capability of 'manufacturing-R&D-integration' has provided a solid guarantee for the rapid implementation of L4.'
IOL Motoring
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

TimesLIVE
3 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
G20 SA 2025: a defining moment for the nation and the continent
Johannesburg, as host city, will become a strategic hub of diplomacy, business exchange, and cultural showcase. While the summit itself is a high-level, closed-door affair, South Africans can expect a wave of public engagement, community-driven programmes, investment conversations, and national pride as the event draws near. 'The G20 presidency is a powerful opportunity for SA to place Africa's priorities at the heart of global decision-making. We are committed to driving an inclusive agenda that ensures no country, and no person, is left behind,' says President Cyril Ramaphosa. For the South African government, this is more than ceremonial. It is an opportunity for G20 members to transform commitments into lasting action. Key issues remain a challenge in the country and on the continent, and there is a call for greater accountability to drive tangible progress in the global pursuit of gender equality SA's G20 presidency is also an opportunity to elevate African perspectives, strengthen international alliances, and advance sustainable development goals. It is a chance to reinforce SA's commitment to multilateralism and global co-operation at a time when unity is more important than ever. As preparations intensify in the coming months, all eyes will be on SA not just as a host, but as a bridge between developed and developing economies. The 2025 G20 Leader's Summit is more than just a gathering of nations. It is a moment for SA to lead with purpose, to shape global consensus, and to drive transformation that begins on the continent but resonates across the globe.


The South African
3 hours ago
- The South African
Bad news for meat prices ahead of pay day weekend
South African households are feeling the pinch at the dinner table, with the price of meat – especially beef- emerging as a major driver of consumer inflation in June. According to the latest data from Stats SA, the annual food inflation rate climbed to 5.1%, marking a 15-month high, and meat was the leading contributor. This spike helped push the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) up from 2.8% in May to 3.0% in June. The standout statistic: stewing beef prices skyrocketed by 21.2% year-on-year – the highest increase recorded since Stats SA's current CPI series began in 2017. Other beef cuts, such as mince and steak, also saw sharp monthly and annual increases, capping off a three-month streak of rising meat prices. The steep increases are being driven by several factors: Supply constraints , with the country's cattle herds still recovering from previous drought conditions. , with the country's cattle herds still recovering from previous drought conditions. Higher feed prices , driven by global grain market fluctuations. , driven by global grain market fluctuations. Increased input costs across the meat production chain. Meat is a staple in most South African diets, particularly among lower- and middle-income households. With meat making up a large share of household food budgets, the recent price hikes are disproportionately impacting vulnerable consumers. Economists warn that if the trend continues, families may be forced to: Shift to cheaper protein sources like chicken, eggs, or plant-based alternatives Buy smaller portions or lower-grade cuts Reduce meat consumption altogether 'Consumers are likely to start adjusting their buying habits. Meat, especially beef, is becoming a luxury,' said consumer analyst Thabo Mokoena. While other food categories like dairy and cereals have seen minor relief, meat inflation shows no sign of slowing. The trajectory of meat prices will be a key factor to watch in the next CPI report due in August. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.


Mail & Guardian
3 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
Discover how AI-Powered analytics are revolutionising retail Forex Trading in 2025
The foreign-exchange market has always rewarded traders who can process information faster than the competition. In 2025, that advantage increasingly belongs to those who deploy artificial-intelligence-driven analytics. South African retail traders, once limited to basic charting packages and delayed economic calendars, now enjoy real-time pattern detection, sentiment scoring, and predictive order-flow models piped straight into their trading dashboards. What was once the preserve of hedge-fund quants is being delivered through cloud-first platforms that cost less per month than a Saturday braai with friends. Platforms such as The traditional technical-analysis toolkit still matters, but AI augments it in ways that speak directly to the needs of a retail audience. Deep-learning models trained on decades of market microstructure spot hidden liquidity pockets long before conventional indicators flash. Natural-language-processing engines scan every Monetary Policy Committee briefing out of Pretoria and every Treasury press release, tagging each sentence with a probability that it will move USD ZAR by more than 0.5 %. These probabilities appear as colour-coded prompts beside a trader's chart, trimming hours from the research cycle and reducing the urge to trade on gut feeling alone. South Africa boasts the largest, most liquid Predictive order-book heatmaps draw on Level-II data from Johannesburg-hosted servers, showing where institutional bots are clustering liquidity. Sentiment fusion models combine Twitter, YouTube, and local news feeds to score public mood about the rand, gold prices, and the broader BRICS narrative. Reinforcement-learning trade managers adjust stop-loss and take-profit levels dynamically, factoring in S&P 500 futures, Bitcoin momentum, and commodity index volatility. Voice-activated assistants let traders ask, 'What is the probability of a USD ZAR rally if Brent crude jumps three per cent?' and receive an instant, data-backed answer. These tools lower the knowledge barrier for beginners while giving veterans sharper edges for prop-firm assessments. AI is not merely about finding entries; it transforms risk control, too. Value-at-risk models that once refreshed daily now recalculate every minute, pulling live volatility surfaces from interbank venues. When sudden rand weakness lifts the three-month implied volatility curve, the smart system can automatically cut leverage on open positions or recommend a counter-correlated hedge in AUD USD. For South Africans trading from their phones between meetings, this auto-adjustment is a lifeline, preventing small mistakes from compounding into blown accounts. Moreover, AI exposes hidden correlations that local traders may overlook. In 2024, an unscheduled power-station outage in Mpumalanga coincided with a spike in inland coal prices, which in turn pressured mining-linked equities and dragged the rand lower. An AI engine that maps energy supply data to currency performance could have pre-emptively reduced exposure hours before the sell-off became obvious on charts. Looking toward the second half of 2025, three trends are set to intensify. First, edge computing under the POPIA framework will keep more personal data within South Africa's borders while still feeding anonymised trade statistics to global AI clouds, balancing privacy and performance. Second, generative AI agents will start running full back-tests and generating narrative reports that explain their logic in plain English, helping traders satisfy both compliance and client-reporting requirements without manual spreadsheets. Third, broker-agnostic neural APIs will allow savvy coders to plug AI signals directly into MT5 or cTrader, opening the door to semi-autonomous portfolios that self-rebalance based on volatility clustering instead of fixed time intervals. For retail traders, the message is clear: mastering the basics of forex remains essential, but harnessing AI analytics is quickly becoming the decisive differentiator. Those who embrace the new tools stand to capture moves earlier, size positions more intelligently, and protect capital during South Africa's trademark bouts of volatility. Traders who ignore the shift risk being outpaced by algorithms that never sleep. In a market where milliseconds matter and global flows can spin the rand from calm to chaos before dawn breaks over Table Mountain, AI-powered analytics offer a competitive edge that is both accessible and increasingly indispensable. Whether you are a newcomer placing your first micro-lot or an experienced day-trader aiming for consistent withdrawals in 2025, integrating intelligent datafeeds into your strategy could be the upgrade that turns potential into real, measurable performance.