IM Motors, which is a luxury subsidiary brand of China’s SAIC Motor, has officially unveiled its latest electric vehicle (EV) at this year’s Chengu motor show.
The IM LS6 is an electric ‘coupe SUV’ that was recently earmarked for the Australian market with familiar MG branding instead.
“I’m still working on this and negotiating with the factory, but I trust the MG brand is capable of selling a wide range of vehicles across a wide range of prices, up to and above $100,000. I don’t think that’s a challenge,” Mr Ciao told CarExpert earlier this month.
“In terms of luxury cars under the MG brand in Australia, I have three options, but my aim is to bring the luxury LS6 here first.”
The IM LS6 is expected to launch in China late in 2023 or early in 2024, though Australian buyers will likely have to wait until 2025 for it.
In China the electric ‘coupe SUV’ costs between ¥230,000 and ¥300,000 (~A$49,200 and ~A$64,200), with CarNewsChina reporting that over 6000 blind orders were received in eight hours.
The LS6 is offered with a pair of dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrains, with the more powerful of the two pumping out 379kW of power.
IM Motors claims the 0-100km/h sprint will take 3.48 seconds, and flat out you’ll be doing 252km/h.
The electric motors are fed by a battery pack of undisclosed capacity with either 500V or 900V electrical architectures. The latter offers peak DC fast-charging of up to 396kW, with only five minutes of charging able to add 200km of CLTC range.
IM Motors claims the LS6 has a range of over 750km according to CLTC testing.
The LS6 measures in at 4904mm long, 1988mm wide, and 1669mm tall, with a 2950mm wheelbase. This is around 150mm longer than the top-selling Tesla Model Y, and a similar size to the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV.
Inside, the LS6 has a steering yoke and screens that take up the full width of the dash. Mr Ciao has previously said he would like to see these features in Australian-specification cars.
The electric ‘coupe SUV’ also has a range of autonomous driving and parking systems, that’s claimed to allow for full door-to-door autonomous commuting by 2025.
Beyond the IM LS6, the luxury SAIC Motor subsidiary brand also produces the LS7 SUV and L7 sedan, which at one point were earmarked for Australia but that’s no longer the case.
The LS6 won’t be the only MG-branded vehicle set to wear a price tag north of $100,000 in Australia, with the Cyberster electric roadster also due here in 2025.
