MG’s parent company, SAIC’s Australian-bound upcoming IM brand’s first EV, has been spotted testing locally in Sydney.
Photos of a partially covered white IM LS6 electric SUV were taken by RG S and shared on MG4 owners Australia’s facebook group. The photos show a covered front and interior around the steering wheel, show a parked car currently undergoing testing.
On the interior, there are two stalks behind the steering wheel along with a large display that appears to extend past the centre console.
Not much more is revealed about the car but RG S did share that MG is planning on bringing the car to market in Q2 of this year: “Just saw this test car in Sydney. Talked to the guy driving it and he said it’s an MG coming out in April.”
The IM brand is positioned to be in the premium market according to MG’s UK website with a press release stating: “IM stands for Intelligent Mobility: it is the new intelligent BEV brand from MG’s parent company and will explore new possibilities to deliver an exciting driving experience.”
The IM LS6 was refreshed in the third quarter of 2024, according to reports from cnevpost and is competing with the Tesla Model Y in its home market.
In China, the LS6 is available in single and dual-motor powertrains, which are a combination of 400 and 800-Volt architectures.
At launch, the pricing of the updated model ranged from $A51,000 to $A65,000, which is comparably lower than the price of the Model Y, which has just received a refresh.
The entry-level LS6 comes with a 75 kWh Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP) battery pack,k which gets bumped to an 83 kWh or a 100 kWh Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt (NMC) pack.
CLTC range on these packs ranges from 625 – 802 km on a single charge, which is more likely to be 500 – 650 km on the WLTP cycle.
In the Chinese market, the LS6 is also available with a Tesla-like yoke steering, which was not spotted in parked evaluation vehicles.
In December, another model from the brand called IM L6 Light Year Edition, had its regulatory approval documents in China listing that the upcoming new sedan will feature a 123.7 kWh semi-solid state battery pack, allowing the car to travel 1,002 km on a single charge when measured on the CLTC cycle.
That revealed that the IM brand is trying various innovative technologies in its upcoming cars, a unique value proposition.
It’s also unclear whether the IM brand will be launching as a new premium brand in the Australian market or if it will be coming in as an MG product.
Details surrounding the brand and the upcoming model lineup will likely be released in the coming months.
With so many electric SUV options already available and IM’s potential entry with the LS6, consumers will undoubtedly have plenty to choose from as they switch to an electric car in 2025.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.