The LS6 is IM Motors' third model and the least expensive in its lineup, with a LiDAR and Nvidia Orin chip as standard.

(Image credit: IM Motors)

IM Motors, the premium electric vehicle (EV) brand created by Chinese carmaker SAIC Motor Corp and e-commerce giant Alibaba, has launched its third model, aiming for a larger market space at lower prices.

Join us on or

IM Motors officially launched its new SUV model, the LS6, at an event last night, with a starting price of RMB 229,900 ($31,480), making it the lowest-priced in the company's product array.

Founded on November 26, 2020, IM Motors is a joint venture between SAIC, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech and Alibaba, with SAIC holding a majority stake.

Its first model is the L7 sedan and the second is the LS7 SUV, which are currently priced at starting prices of RMB 338,800 and RMB 289,800, respectively.

The LS6 is a mid-to-large-size SUV, which has a length, width and height of 4,904 mm, 1,988 mm and 1,669 mm respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,950 mm. The LS7 has larger dimensions, with a length, width and height of 5,049 mm, 2,002 mm and 1,731 mm respectively, and a wheelbase of 3,060 mm.

IM Motors LS6 is currently offered in four variants with starting prices of RMB 229,900, RMB 249,900, RMB 273,900 and RMB 291,900 respectively.

Customers who buy the car before the end of 2023 can get a limited-time purchase entitlement, which reduces the starting prices of these four versions to RMB 214,900, RMB 234,900, RMB 258,900, and RMB 276,900 respectively.

IM Motors said deliveries of the LS6 will begin at the end of October.

Its three lowest-priced versions all have single-motor rear-wheel drive, while the highest-priced version has dual-motor all-wheel drive.

The three single-motor versions have peak motor power of 231 kW, 250 kW, and 379 kW, while the dual-motor version has a front motor with a maximum power of 200 kW and a rear motor with a maximum power of 379 kW.

The model's all-wheel-drive version has a maximum total power of 579 kW and peak motor torque of 800 Nm, and can spring from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.48 seconds.

The LS6 is powered by a Li-ion ternary battery pack with three capacity options -- 71 kWh, 90 kWh and 100 kWh -- and the cells come from .

Notably, the car's assisted driving system comes standard with a LiDAR and an Nvidia Orin chip, making it a rare model in this price range to carry these expensive components.

IM Motors and local autonomous driving startup Momenta built the assisted driving system IM AD with the goal of making the highway pilot assisted driving feature available in 333 Chinese cities, and will begin public testing of the feature in urban areas by the end of the year.

($1 = RMB 7.3028)

Audi partners with SAIC, to launch EV models for segments it hasn't yet covered in China