IM Motors breaks into the "Nine Series" battlefield

Author | Chai Xuchen

Editor | Wang Xiaojun

With a price of over 300,000, not only does it come with a refrigerator, color TV, and large sofa, but even "underfloor heating" and "bathrooms" have been moved into the car.

On November 12, SAIC Motor's "ambitious project" — IM Motors LS9 officially debuted. This flagship model, which has high expectations internally and is humorously referred to as SAIC's "Cullinan" by the outside world, represents IM's renewed assault on the luxury car segment.

The full-size SUV market in 2025 can be described as bustling, but the phenomenon of homogenization is becoming increasingly serious, with too many brands replicating each other's successful templates.

This time, IM has taken a different approach. On this flagship vehicle, Momenta's intelligent driving solution, laser radar, digital chassis, and stellar range extension are all fundamental features. In terms of topics, the LS9 attempts to expand the usage and play of cars, with underfloor heating laid out in the front passenger and second and third-row seats, high-position searchlights typically found in rugged off-road vehicles, and even meeting the need for bathing.

According to IM CMO Li Weimeng, the new car is designed from the user's perspective, with the "big flat" space setting and 24-hour hot water availability tailored for a specific age group. Additionally, one of LS9's major weapons is its appeal to the more affluent middle-aged demographic.

IM Co-CEO Liu Tao told Wall Street Insight that Chinese men over 40 still quite like having a large vehicle. "But previously, large vehicles were difficult to drive; if you buy a large vehicle that you can drive but your wife cannot, she will oppose it. If we can solve the problem of difficult driving, it will definitely allow high-end flagship SUVs and 6-seat SUVs to capture a larger market."

IM's ambition to disrupt the "9 series" track is gradually becoming evident.

Since the beginning of this year, flagship models named "9" have emerged one after another, including ZEEKR 9X, Leapmotor D19, and Tengshi N9, making this domestic flagship melee already intense. Huachuang Securities predicts that this year, as a significant year for the launch of 6-seat SUV models, high-end vehicles priced above 300,000 will become a red ocean market, facing fierce competition.

The high-end mid-large SUV market has become a "battleground" for several clear and enticing reasons.

First is the high single-vehicle profit. Compared to the mainstream market of 100,000-200,000, which has become a "bloodbath" with low profit margins, high-end models priced above 300,000 have a healthier profit space. This is crucial for any car company that requires massive R&D investment to maintain an "arms race."

Secondly, there is the label of brand value. A successful flagship SUV embodies a company's technological strength, supply chain management, product definition, and brand operation. The success of Aito M9 has cemented the "tech luxury" label in the market's mindset, allowing it and Seres to reap substantial profits. Winning in the "9 series melee" means securing a ticket to the high-end brand market and ensuring profit.

However, high returns also mean extremely high entry barriers. This track is no longer a simple "material stacking" competition, but a comprehensive confrontation involving brand, ecosystem, intelligent driving, service, and even the founder's IP For SAIC Motor, the launch of the IM LS9 carries the pressure of "must win." It must prove that this "elephant" can not only turn around but also compete head-on with new forces in the forefront of intelligent driving and luxury experience. The success or failure of this "upward attack" will directly affect the capital market's confidence in SAIC's future transformation towards intelligence.

Faced with strong competitors, the strategy for the IM LS9 is quite "aggressive." Starting at a price of 322,800 yuan, the pricing strategy of the IM LS9 is highly offensive. It is priced a level lower than the Li Auto L9 (starting price around 410,000 yuan), Aito M9 (starting price around 470,000 yuan), and Denza N9 (starting price around 390,000 yuan).

Liu Tao told Wall Street Insight that under the premise of full competition in the domestic market, there must be good pricing. With decades of supply chain resources backing SAIC, IM can lower the threshold for these "black technologies." The signal it tries to convey to the market is: "The flagship configuration that you can only buy for over 400,000 yuan, I can offer you for just over 300,000 yuan."

IM is betting that when the configuration and experience are maximized, and the price advantage is sufficiently obvious, a considerable number of rational consumers will be willing to vote with their feet. It targets those rational high-end users who do not have a strong demand for Huawei's "full package" or Li Auto's "dad car," but pursue technological experience and luxury configuration.

Li Weimeng revealed to Wall Street Insight that within 25 minutes of the LS9's launch, pre-orders exceeded 5,000 units. "The initial orders exceeded our internal expectations, and the pre-orders also exceeded my own expectations."

As the flagship brand of SAIC Motor, the IM brand has finally grasped the ticket to establish itself in the high-end market after leveraging the advantages given by SAIC. After experiencing ups and downs, it has finally welcomed a window of rebirth.

Below is the transcript of the conversation with IM's co-CEO Liu Tao, CMO Li Weimeng, and CTO Xiang Jiao (edited):

Q: What is the internal positioning of the LS9?

Liu Tao: The IM LS9 is both the flagship of SAIC and the flagship of IM; it is a milestone in the development of the IM brand over the past five years.

SAIC has delivered over 94 million new vehicles, and the group itself has a very strong technical accumulation. The group's top technologies will be used in the IM brand first, and all of them are at the highest level in the IM LS9. From an external perspective, the super extended range technology equipped with the IM Star Super Range is completely generationally leading, and Momenta currently holds the number one market share in China, with which we have a very deep cooperation.

With flagship configurations, top-notch technology, and the most sincere rights and pricing, it will definitely become a flagship blockbuster model.

Li Weimeng: From the user's perspective, what they want is a product experience that matches their living environment and life stage. The "big flat" space setting, including 24-hour hot water availability and 4D mechanical massage, is designed specifically for this age group and is very precise.

Good technology in this era, under the premise of full competition in the domestic market, must have good pricing. This is thanks to the backing of SAIC Group's decades of supply chain, which allows us to lower the threshold for top-notch technology.

Q: Who is the target audience for the IM LS9? Li Weimeng: When we first started developing the large six-seater, we thought about what kind of different large six-seater users in this era still need. Before that, they might have been performance car enthusiasts or occasional off-road users, and they had very high demands for the quality of driving and technology. However, when they reach this stage in life and want to change to a large six-seater, it seems to be a bit of a compromise for family and self. We felt during the early development stage that we needed to create a vehicle that could provide comfort for the family while also being very comfortable to drive.

Question: In the 300,000 to 400,000 yuan vehicle segment, what are the user preference indices for power and handling, and how does IM Motors balance this?

Xiang Jiao: The automotive industry has been around for a long time, but do people still want to drive a Mercedes or a BMW? A large six-seater SUV will always face this zero-sum game during the tuning process. Should it prioritize comfort or handling?

So we upgraded the chassis to the Lingxi Digital Chassis 3.0, using technologies from the intelligent era to solve this zero-sum game problem. This time, we particularly upgraded the rear wheel steering angle to the industry's largest dual 24 degrees. Such a large vehicle has the agility of a Polo.

Secondly, the intelligent suspension system ensures that during dynamic processes, the stiffness of the entire vehicle can be quickly adjusted from low to high. It can set the initial frequency of the vehicle relatively low to ensure comfort while also providing room for quick adjustments.

Thirdly, just upgrading the hardware is not enough; the most important thing is that the Lingxi Digital Chassis 3.0 has a smart brain that allows the actuators to coordinate control uniformly, from steering to braking to intelligent suspension, providing everyone with a top-tier handling experience comparable to large five-seater SUVs.

Question: What is the killing weapon of the LS9 in this year's Chinese mid-to-large SUV market, especially for the 9 series SUVs?

Liu Tao: As a flagship product, the IM Motors LS9 cannot have any shortcomings and must have super obvious strengths. The barrel theory is not very applicable in the automotive industry. After all, a car carries safety, performance, etc.; it should actually be an enhanced version of the barrel theory.

Our performance, handling, intelligence, and luxury are all flagship-level. If I had to choose one, I would definitely choose our Lingxi Digital Chassis 3.0, which IM Motors has been committed to developing for many years. It is certainly a bit higher than the thresholds for refrigerators, color TVs, and large sofas. Only long-term persistence can make this strength very long.

The creation of strengths absolutely cannot be a technical self-indulgence; it must consider problems from the user's perspective. Through extensive analysis and research, we have indeed identified this pain point very clearly: the original large vehicles are difficult to drive.

In fact, Chinese people, especially men over 40, still quite like having a large vehicle. But previously, large vehicles were hard to drive, and their wives opposed buying them. If you buy a large vehicle that you can drive, your wife cannot drive it. If we can solve the problem of difficult driving, it will definitely allow high-end flagship SUVs and six-seater SUVs to capture a larger market We indeed want the second and third rows to be comfortable, without getting stuck in busy urban areas. At this point, the 24-degree intelligent rear steering allows us to have both fish and bear's paw.

For IM Motors, the past five years have been a process of accumulating strength and then unleashing it, choosing a difficult path. We are not saying we didn't have the option of refrigerators, color TVs, or large sofas; our Lingxi digital chassis, based on our true understanding of vehicle dynamic dynamics, makes cars like the LS6 particularly enjoyable to drive, and even larger vehicles like the flagship LS9 easier to handle. This itself is a relatively longer-term accumulation.

Regarding the accumulation of a brand, I believe there is something called value return. In the early years, from 2014 to 2015, during the first wave of smart new energy vehicle startups, it seemed that people from the internet were impressive. The market environment at that time might have been relatively complicated, but value will definitely return. I have always believed that the development logic of smart new energy vehicles is different from that of smartphones; with smartphones, you are always the master, while with smart vehicles, we are the masters of safe travel.

After the value return, users will still pay for true technological innovation based on their real needs. Therefore, whether it is our brand accumulation, technological accumulation, or user experience accumulation, I think this year may truly be the time for that.

Since the launch of the IM Motors LS6, we have actually faced significant production supply challenges because user orders have been overwhelming, and production capacity is still ramping up. The battle report for the LS9 has just come out, and we are more prepared this time.

Q: Why did IM Motors choose "super extended range" technology for the LS9?

Xiang Jiao: IM Motors, backed by SAIC, does not lack traditional power technology capabilities, but this time we chose super extended range precisely from the user's perspective. When designing the super extended range, we considered the concerns users have when choosing new energy vehicles—does running out of battery mean losing that new energy electric feel?

In addition to mentioning a large battery and ultra-long pure electric range, the main point is that the 1500-kilometer range is equipped with supercharging capabilities, so even in low battery situations, the power and acceleration feel are the same as electric vehicles, and the quietness is also comparable to electric vehicles, while energy consumption is minimized. From this perspective, we chose our current super extended range system.

Q: What changes have been made in the promotion of the LS9?

Li Weimeng: The IM Motors LS9 achieved over 5,000 large orders within 25 minutes of its launch, and the small orders had already exceeded our internal expectations. The large orders also exceeded my own expectations. Many partners have told me that it seems everyone around them has noticed this car. In the past, they might have needed to actively ask others, "Do you want to give it a try?" This time, many friends are actively seeking them out, expressing a desire to experience our flagship model.

This is not only due to the popularity of a particular car but also the result of IM Motors' brand accumulation over the past five years, including our persistent efforts in many technologies, the return of value, and at this point, combined with such a strong product backing from SAIC's flagship, we have reached this explosive point Currently, IM Motors is accelerating its online channel layout, aiming to cover 150 cities by the end of the year, achieving 100% coverage in first and second-tier cities, nearly 85% coverage in third-tier cities, and over 50% coverage in fourth-tier cities; combined with the flexible layout of fast and slow flash, the overall number of outlets will exceed 500.

Q: Will there be some high-end versions in the product iteration after LS9?

Xiang Jiao: Competitors have long moved televisions, refrigerators, and sofas into cars, which in a sense represent a very basic user demand. What we are doing, including the underfloor heating that everyone sees this time, as well as some other details, is actually based on insights into deeper user needs. Every user's needs are actually different and diverse. The introduction of the underfloor heating system this time is precisely to provide users with one more choice in the family usage scenario of the large six-seater, allowing everyone to find the option that best fits their living scenario