SAIC’s ‘IM’ brand launches in the UK
The automotive giant SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) is accelerating its expansion into European markets. With MG, the Group currently has the most successful Chinese car brand in Europe in its programme, which has quickly established itself thanks to its good price-performance ratio and well-known name.
As part of the renowned motorsport event Goodwood Festival of Speed, SAIC has now not only completed the market launch of its higher positioned subsidiary IM Motors there, but also presented two new models at the same time; the IM 5 electric sedan and the IM 6 electric SUV are the vanguard in the United Kingdom and are due to roll out to MG dealerships there in the coming months. This was reported by the British magazine Autocar.
IM Motors has its sights set on Tesla in particular
IM was founded in 2020 in cooperation with the online retail giant Alibaba and the versatile development centre ‘Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park’. The brand was launched in China in 2022 and celebrated its European premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in 2024, but the cars that were exhibited there have not been sold in Europe since. The abbreviation stands for ‘Intelligence in Motion’, with which the newcomers make their claim clear. In contrast to the more down-to-earth MG models, the brand does not appeal to an emphatically price-conscious target group. Instead, the IM electric vehicles are primarily intended to impress with their modern technology and thus steal customers away from Tesla.
It is therefore not surprising that the new IM 5 is a hatchback sedan positioned in the upper mid-size class. Known in China as the IM L6, the 4.93 metre model is around twenty centimetres longer than the Tesla Model 3, placing it between the Model 3 and the Model S. As David Allison, Head of Product and Planning for MG UK, explains in a press release, the vehicle is based on a new 800-volt architecture.
According to the Chinese manufacturer, the charge level of the larger 100 kWh battery can be increased from 10 to 80 per cent in just 17 minutes at a 350 kW charging station. Autocar gives the range as 442 miles, or the equivalent of 711 kilometres. According to the Chinese CLTC standard, it is 780 kilometres.
IM 5 starts at the equivalent of 45,700 euros
In the ‘Ultimate Performance’ configuration, the IM 5 has two electric motors that provide a system output of 553 kW and 802 newton metres of torque and accelerate the all-wheel-drive saloon from zero to one hundred in 3.2 seconds. In terms of price, the provisional top version starts at 48,495 pounds in the UK, or just over 56,100 euros. If you opt for the large battery in combination with the weaker 300 kW drivetrain, you will have to pay £44,995 or €52,100.
The Chinese brand also offers a basic version of the IM 5 with a 75-kWh battery and a 400-volt architecture, which offers a range of 531 kilometres and remains below the £40,000 threshold at £39,450 (around €45,700). The manufacturer does not offer this drive configuration for the technically almost identical SUV brother IM 6, which competes against the Tesla Model Y with a length of 4.90 metres.
It starts with the ‘Long Range’ version, which is available from 44,995 pounds, or the equivalent of 52,100 euros. The performance version of the IM 6 starts at £50,995, which corresponds to around 59,000 euros. Despite having the same drive system, the SUV coupé accelerates slightly slower from 0 to 100 km/h and reaches country road speed after 3.5 seconds.
China’s top version has a semi-solid-state battery
The cockpits of the two IM models are almost identical. A 26.3-inch screen for driving information and the infotainment system is positioned in front of the driver. For touch operation of most vehicle functions, there is another display on the centre console with a diagonal of 10.5 inches. Both the IM 5 and the IM 6 are available with a panoramic roof, an automatic parking assistant and rear-wheel steering. The latter is designed to reduce the turning circle of the IM 5 saloon to under ten metres. The braking system comes from Continental and is said to be particularly powerful.
In China, SAIC offers the L6, the local version of the IM 5, with a semi-solid-state battery with an energy content of 133 kWh. Thanks to the advanced 900-volt technology, the L6 Lightyear should be able to charge at 400 kW and offer a range of over 1,000 kilometres. It is not yet known whether this top version will also be launched in the UK in the long term. It is similarly uncertain when the IM models will be launched on the market in other European countries and how SAIC will structure sales in the EU.
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