- The LS8 secured over 10,000 initial orders within 45 minutes of opening for pre-sales.
- The LS8 has a starting price of 259,800 yuan ($37,600) and will officially launch on April 16.
IM Motors, the electric vehicle (EV) arm of SAIC Motor, opened pre-sales for its all-new LS8 model on Thursday, adding another extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) with ultra-long range to the Chinese market.
IM Motors set a post-benefit pre-sales starting price of 259,800 yuan ($37,600) for the mid-to large-size EREV SUV, aiming to capture market share in the highly competitive 250,000 to 300,000 yuan new energy vehicle (NEV) segment.
The new model received strong initial reception, with official data showing it garnered over 10,000 pre-orders within 45 minutes of the pre-sales launch.
The new model is scheduled to hit the market on April 16, and customer deliveries will begin immediately after the launch.
As the latest addition to the brand's extended-range lineup, the LS8 is seen as a smaller version of the flagship LS9 launched late last year.
It measures 5,085 mm in length, 2,000 mm in width, and 1,807 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,060 mm.
The LS8 is powered by a 1.5T extended-range powertrain and is built on an 800-volt ultra-fast charging platform architecture.
Its dual-motor four-wheel-drive variant is equipped with a 66-kWh ternary lithium battery pack, providing the vehicle with a maximum pure electric range of up to 430 kilometers.
Under ideal testing conditions with a full tank and full charge, the new model's maximum combined range can reach up to 1,605 kilometers.
It features advanced chassis technology, including a steer-by-wire system, enabling the 5-meter-long car to achieve a tight turning radius of just 4.85 meters.
The new car comes standard across all trims with a 520-channel LiDAR, as well as Nvidia's powerful Thor autonomous driving chip.
Software and AI capabilities are considered a highly critical selling point for this all-new SUV in the currently crowded Chinese market.
It is equipped with the IM Ultra Agent, an underlying intelligent system co-developed by IM Motors and Alibaba.
The system deeply integrates Alibaba's Qwen AI large language model, providing the vehicle with advanced natural language understanding and complex logical reasoning capabilities.
The pre-sales price of the LS8 is significantly lower than the official starting prices of major competitors, such as Li Auto's Li L8 EREV SUV and the Huawei-backed Aito M7.
The new move represents another major market expansion effort following the company's launch of the larger LS9 full-size EREV SUV in November 2025.
($1 = 6.9096 yuan)
