SAIC's IM L6 boasts a 'spirit lizard digital chassis'
On April 8, IM L6 sedan was officially released.
SAIC's IM L6 sedan was officially unveiled on Monday boasting competitive technologies and aiming at taking on the Xiaomi SU7 in the domestic EV market.
Pre-sales of the IM L6 also began on Monday with three editions: L6 Max Standard, L6 Max Ultra Performance, and L6 Max Lightyear, priced at 230,000 ($31,800) to 330,000 yuan.
The IM L6 was unveiled globally at the 2024 Geneva Motor Show in February.
The vehicle has an intelligent digital chassis, super-fast charge solid-state battery, a "hurricane motor" with high power, and many other cutting-edge technologies debuted by SAIC Group.
The intelligent digital chassis technology, "spirit lizard digital chassis," as the first technology highlighted at the new car launch, is the result of SAIC's 10-year technical research.
It transforms the scattered working modes of automobile chassis hardware in the past into intelligent collaboration. It integrates the control modules of a series of chassis systems, such as an intelligent four-wheel steering system and electric drive system, and regulates them in a unified way by a set of algorithms.
According to IM co-CEO Liu Tao, this chassis realizes full digital management of the vehicle, ensuring the stability of vehicle handling, and comfort.
"The chassis enables L6 with crab walk capabilities and makes it easier for drivers to deal with side parking, with the length of the required parking space reduced by 11 percent," he said.
"Spirit lizard digital chassis" is the first technology highlighted at the new car launch.
L6 is powered by semi-solid-states, jointly developed by SAIC and QingTao Energy, featuring ultra-fast charging capability and a range of 1,000 kilometers, according to the launch.
"It's like driving from Beijing to Dalian or from Shanghai to Hefei without recharging in the middle," said Liu.
At the launch, Liu specifically mentioned the Xiaomi SU7 as the IML6's biggest competitor..
Xiaomi launched its first EV SU7 on March 28 with prices starting at 215,900 yuan and received 88,879 orders within 24 hours.
At L6 car launch, a full range of comparisons was made between L6 and SU7, while due to the labeling of a wrong parameter of SU7, IM apologized later on Weibo.
Only three days after the launch of SU7, 15 domestic car companies announced price cuts or preferential policies one after another, including AITO, NIO, Geely, FAW Volkswagen, and FAW Toyota, with adjustments ranging from 5,000 yuan to 66,000 yuan.
As a phenomenal product, the arrival of Xiaomi SU7, on the one hand, proves that there is a huge consumer potential in the market; on the other hand, it also made the EV market more intensified, said analysts.
IM L6 will be exhibited at the 2024 Beijing International Automobile Exhibition this month and officially delivered in May.
