LEPAS builds its after-sales in Romania: first batch of original L8 parts arrives at MATEROM
The first official batch of original LEPAS parts has reached MATEROM's logistics centre, with about 1,400 part codes for the L8 SUV, including headlights, windscreens and collision parts. What the Iași dealer's video shows, what LEPAS is, and what you should know about the L8.
Anyone looking at a new Chinese car brand eventually asks the same question: "If I crash it, how long will I wait for parts?" LEPAS, Chery Group's new brand, has started answering that in Romania before handing over its first cars. The first official batch of original spare parts has arrived at the logistics centre of MATEROM, the brand's exclusive importer, and the dealer in Iași showed it in a video.
A note on timing: the video was posted on the LEPAS Iași Facebook page (run by the Casa Auto dealership) on September 15, 2026, and LEPAS Romania had already announced the batch on LinkedIn on September 2. So this is nearly a month old. We're covering it now because the brand has since launched officially, with prices and a dealer network, and parts and service matter as much as the sticker price.
What LEPAS says about parts
According to the LEPAS Iași post and the LEPAS Romania announcement:
- the first official batch of original LEPAS parts has been received at the MATEROM logistics centre;
- there are about 1,400 part codes for the LEPAS L8;
- they include headlights, windscreens and key collision-repair parts;
- dealers and workshops should get "optimised stock and fast deliveries".
What LEPAS is
LEPAS is an electrified, more upmarket brand that Chery launched on April 24, 2025, with the L8 as its first model. The name blends "leopard" and "passion". In Europe, the L8 was shown at the Turin motor show in autumn 2025, and the brand's official European debut followed in Milan in April 2026. In July 2026, Chery said almost 1,500 L8 PHEVs had left the port of Wuhu for six European countries, Romania among them.
Who sells LEPAS in Romania
- Exclusive importer: the MATEROM group, a Romanian family business (the Baciu family) best known as a car-parts distributor. According to Economica.net, it also runs dealerships for Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Škoda, Toyota, Dacia, Renault, Nissan, KGM, BYD and Geely.
- The first showroom opened in Sibiu; the commercial launch was reported in the press on October 2, 2026.
- Eight dealers at launch: Bacău, Brașov, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Pitești, Sibiu and Timișoara. The stated plan is 12 dealers by the end of 2026 and 24 centres in 2027.
- In Iași, the dealer is Casa Auto, which signed up in early September and was fitting out a LEPAS showroom at Centro, Calea Chișinăului 23.
On parts, MATEROM says it has set up a central warehouse for original parts in Târgu Mureș and commits to delivering in-stock parts to the network within 24 hours. It also promises a Romanian-language call centre and 24/7 roadside assistance. On its website, the company describes a semi-automated 11,600 m² logistics centre in Târgu Mureș and 23 regional warehouses.
LEPAS L8: is it electric?
This is an EV site, so let's be clear: the LEPAS L8 is not an electric car. It's a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) SUV, with a petrol engine and a battery you can charge from a socket. Official figures from lepas.ro:
| LEPAS L8 PHEV | |
|---|---|
| Petrol engine | 1.5 TGDI, 105 kW |
| Electric motor (in the DHT transmission) | 150 kW |
| System power / torque | 205 kW (279 PS) / 365 Nm |
| Battery | LFP, 18.4 kWh |
| WLTP electric range | 90 km (123 km city) |
| Charging | AC 6.6 kW, DC 40 kW |
| WLTP weighted consumption | 2.2 l/100 km |
| Consumption with a flat battery | 6.0 l/100 km |
| 0–100 km/h | 7.9 s |
| Length / wheelbase | 4,688 mm / 2,800 mm |
| Boot | 507 l |
At launch, the importer quoted a combined range of up to 1,040 km and consumption of 2.0 l/100 km. The official spec sheet on the website gives 2.2 l/100 km, the same figure published in Spain.
Romanian price: €45,500 list, VAT included. There's a €3,000 launch discount, bringing it to €42,500, plus 0.99% promotional financing and the first two services free (at 15,000 and 30,000 km). Trims are Essence and Elegance.
If you want a fully electric car: the next model announced for Romania is the L6, in PHEV and fully electric versions, due to be shown at the Bucharest Motor Show, followed by the L4. In the UK, LEPAS says a fully electric L8 will follow in 2027. We haven't found confirmation of that for Romania yet.
Why parts matter
For a new brand, parts and repair times are often a bigger problem than the car itself. A car stuck in a workshop for weeks after a minor bump, because a headlight or bumper has to come from China, damages a brand's reputation faster than any review. That's why it matters that the first parts LEPAS highlights are exactly headlights, windscreens and body parts: the ones you need after an accident.
Our takeaways (our own inferences):
- A distributor with a national warehouse network could be a real advantage for LEPAS over brands that arrived with a small importer. The 24-hour promise is the company's, though, and there's no data yet on how long it takes in practice.
- 1,400 part codes sounds like a lot, but a car has thousands of parts. What will matter is what happens with parts that aren't in stock, and how long they take to arrive.
- The video is marketing material, not a stock inventory. The real test will come in the first months after deliveries, when the first insurance claims arrive.
If you've ordered or are considering a LEPAS L8, ask the dealer which body parts it keeps in stock, what delivery time it guarantees for the rest, and which body shops it works with for accident repairs.
