Photo: LEPAS Romania. Official L8 image.
Lepas officially enters Romania with its first showroom in Sibiu
Chinese automotive brand Lepas has officially entered Romania with the opening of its first showroom in Șelimbăr, Sibiu County. The inauguration took place on 30 September 2026, with the local operation led by Materom Group. The new facility is described as Lepas Romania’s central showroom. Local reports from the event say representatives also called it the brand’s largest showroom in Europe; that claim should be treated as an attributed statement because no independent European ranking was provided.
The event marks more than the display of several cars. It is the beginning of a commercial and service network. Before the opening, Materom announced agreements with dealers in several regions. An international announcement about Lepas entering Romania referred to an initial five-dealer network. The exact locations and opening dates of every partner still need to be confirmed by the importer as the network becomes operational.
What Lepas is
Lepas is a new-energy vehicle brand within Chery’s portfolio. The official Romanian website describes the range as premium plug-in hybrid and electric SUVs. Its current local presentation features the L8 and L6, while the L4 is listed as a future model for Romania. Lepas uses a design language called Leopard Beauty Aesthetics and builds its public identity around elegance, comfort and technology.
That positioning will shape the brand’s competition in Romania. Lepas is not presented as Chery’s basic volume offering, but as a more refined proposal with a stronger emphasis on design and equipment. Positioning, however, is a marketing statement rather than automatic proof of material quality, reliability or resale value. Customers will ultimately judge the brand through pricing, warranty terms, service response and parts availability.
The first model: Lepas L8
The vehicle highlighted at the Romanian debut is the L8 plug-in hybrid SUV. According to the official Romanian product page, the L8 is 4,688 millimetres long, 1,871 mm wide and 1,686 mm high, with a 2,800-mm wheelbase. It has five seats and a quoted 507-litre luggage compartment. These figures are published for European-homologated versions and are not estimates based on the vehicle’s appearance.
The powertrain combines a 105 kW 1.5 TGDI petrol engine with a 150 kW electric motor integrated into a DHT transmission. Lepas lists 205 kW of system power and 365 Nm of maximum torque. The LFP battery has an 18.4 kWh capacity. The manufacturer quotes up to 90 kilometres of electric WLTP range, or up to 123 km in the urban WLTP cycle.
Photo: LEPAS Romania. Image from the announcement covering the L8 shipment to six European countries.
The L8 reaches 100 km/h from rest in 7.9 seconds, according to the local product page. Charging is listed at 6.6 kW on AC and 40 kW on DC. Electric WLTP range should not be confused with the total range of a plug-in hybrid. Real-world electric distance depends on temperature, speed, traffic, terrain, driving style and climate-control use.
Romania in the first European wave
In July, Lepas announced that nearly 1,500 L8 PHEV vehicles had been shipped from Wuhu to Italy, Spain, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia and Romania. The company described the shipment as part of its “Year of Deliveries”. It confirms that Romania was included in the brand’s initial European rollout, but the shipment figure does not say how many vehicles were allocated locally or when an individual customer’s car will be delivered.
For a new brand, a showroom is only one part of the operation. The importer must also provide authorised servicing, diagnostic equipment, technician training, spare parts and warranty procedures. A plug-in hybrid network must be able to maintain both the combustion system and the high-voltage battery system. Prospective buyers should ask for written warranty conditions, service intervals, maintenance costs and parts availability before signing a contract.
What comes next
The official Romanian website presents the L8 as the flagship offer, the L6 as a separate SUV proposal and the L4 as a future Romanian model. The sources reviewed do not provide a complete launch calendar, final prices for every version or guaranteed sales volumes. The Sibiu opening should therefore be understood as the start of the local operation, not proof that Lepas already has a mature nationwide presence.
Lepas adds another Chinese name to Romania’s growing electrified-SUV market. Its long-term result will depend on the speed of the dealer rollout, the quality of service support and real transaction prices. The Șelimbăr showroom is the first verifiable step. Deliveries, customer experience and the importer’s ability to support the cars after sale will determine whether the new brand becomes a lasting competitor.
