Im Motors, the electric-vehicle brand backed by SAIC, has started pre-sales for the new-generation LS6 SUV, a model the company says will carry three flagship technologies as standard. The car is available in three all-electric variants, priced between 209,900 yuan and 264,900 yuan (about $29,600 to $37,300) as Chinese guide prices before taxes and incentives.
The LS6 is the first model to launch under Im Motors' "NEXT·2028" strategy, which aims to bring advanced technology to lower price points faster. According to PCauto, the vehicle comes with the NEO three-electric architecture, an aviation-grade steer-by-wire chassis, and the IM Claw intelligent agent as standard equipment.
At a media briefing after the launch event, Im Motors deputy general manager Xu Yin said the company's dealer network now stands at 436 stores nationwide, with new outlets opening in shopping districts and pop-up locations. Xu said the brand evaluates each regional market based on market share targets, and will slow new-store openings in areas where dealer saturation has been reached.
"We are focused on the health of our dealers. If dealers are healthy and service reputation is good, customers will be satisfied," Xu said, according to PCauto. "Customer satisfaction includes two parts: dealer satisfaction and customer satisfaction. If our dealer partners are not satisfied, I believe customers will not be satisfied either."
High-end tech moves downmarket
Xu said the company has been developing steer-by-wire technology for two to three years, and is now bringing it to the 200,000-yuan SUV segment, a price range where such hardware was previously uncommon. The technology will be standard across all future Im Motors models, he said, starting with the LS9 and extending to the L6 and LS6.
The new LS6 also features a new hurricane electric motor with 0.2-millimetre silicon steel sheets, which the company says helps achieve energy consumption of 12.7 kWh per 100 kilometres. Xu said the brand is responding to intense competition in China's EV market, where more than 500 new models have launched in the past six months.
"If we don't put our best equipment in the car and don't give the best price to this market, the market will be very realistic," he said.
The IM Claw intelligent agent, another headline feature, moves beyond simple voice commands to interpret user intent, according to chief technology officer Xiang Jiao. For example, if a passenger says they feel cold, the system can adjust the climate without a specific instruction. It can also handle multi-step tasks such as planning a route home and ordering dinner in one session.
Fourth-generation iteration
The LS6, first launched in 2023, has now gone through four iterations, Xu noted. The first generation was among the first in the industry to include lidar as standard, the second added a digital chassis with four-wheel steering, and the third introduced a large-battery extended-range option. The fourth-generation model debuts the full steer-by-wire chassis.
Im Motors plans to officially launch the new LS6 on September 23, Xu said. The company said it aims to deliver the car to customers quickly, with display vehicles and test drives already available at dealerships.
