IM Motors breaks into the "Nine Series" battlefield
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Author | Chai Xuchen
Editor | Wang Xiaojuan
With a price tag of over 300,000 RMB, not only does it have a refrigerator, color TV, and large sofa, but even "underfloor heating" and "bathroom" have been moved into the car.
On November 12, SAIC's "ambitious work"—the IM LS9 officially made its debut. This flagship model, which has high hopes internally and is jokingly called SAIC's "Cullinan" by outsiders, marks another attack by the IM brand on the luxury car segment.
The full-size SUV market in 2025 can be described as bustling, but the phenomenon of homogenization has become increasingly serious, with too many brands replicating each other's successful templates.
This time, IM takes a different route. On this flagship vehicle, Momenta’s intelligent driving solution, lidar, digital chassis, and Stellar extended range are all basic, but with the LS9, IM tries to expand how a car can be used and played with; beyond a lounge or cloakroom, “underfloor heating” has been laid out on the passenger and second/third rows, high-mounted search lights usually found on hardcore off-road vehicles have been added, and even the need to take a shower is met.
In the view of IM CMO Li Weimeng, the new car stands from the user's perspective. Its "large flat" space configuration, including 24-hour hot water freedom, is designed for a specific age group. Another "killer feature" of the LS9 is to meet the needs of a middle-aged group with strong purchasing power.
IM Co-CEO Liu Tao told Wallstreetcn, Chinese men over 40 still really like owning a big car. “But big cars used to be hard to drive; if you buy a big car, you can drive it, but your wife can’t, so she’ll oppose it. If the issue of poor drivability can be solved, flagship-level SUVs and 6-seat SUVs will have a much bigger market.”
The ambition of IM to disrupt the “Series 9” track is gradually emerging.
This year, flagship models named “9” keep popping up—ZEEKR 9X, Leapmotor D19, Denza N9 have all launched in succession, and this domestic flagship melee has reached a fever pitch. Huachuang Securities forecasts that this year, as a big year for six-seat SUV launches, high-end models priced above 300,000 RMB will become a red ocean, facing fierce competition.
The reason the high-end midsize SUV market has become “a battleground for major players” is clear and enticing.
First is the high single-car profit. Compared to the “bloodbath” mainstream market of 100,000–200,000 RMB models with low margins, high-end models above 300,000 RMB have much healthier profit spaces. For any automaker that needs huge R&D investments to maintain the “arms race,” this is a critical “cash cow.”
Second is brand value labeling. A successful flagship SUV embodies a company’s technical prowess, supply chain management, product definition, and brand operation. The success of AITO M9 pinned the “tech luxury” label to the market's mind, allowing it and Seres to earn handsomely. Winning in the “Series 9 battle” means getting tickets to the high-end brand club and profit assurance.
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, smart driving, service, and even founder IP.
For SAIC, launching the IM LS9 carries the pressure of a “must-win.” It must prove that SAIC, this “elephant,” can not only turn around, but also compete head-to-head with new powers in cutting-edge smart driving and luxury experience. The success or failure of this “uphill campaign” will directly affect capital market confidence in SAIC’s future intelligent transformation.
In the face of strong competitors, the tactics of the IM LS9 are quite “aggressive.” Judging by the starting price of 322,800 RMB, IM LS9’s pricing strategy is extremely offensive. It’s on a lower tier than the LI L9 (starting roughly at 410,000), AITO M9 (around 470,000), and Denza N9 (around 390,000).
Liu Tao told Wallstreetcn bluntly, under the premise of full competition in the domestic market, you have to have good pricing, because IM leverages decades of SAIC supply chain resources to lower the threshold of these “black techs.” The signal it tries to send to the market is: “The flagship features you need over 400,000 RMB to buy, I give you all for just over 300,000.”
IM is betting that if configuration and experience are maxed out and the price advantage is obvious enough, a considerable number of rational consumers will vote with their feet. It targets rational high-end users who aren’t strongly drawn to Huawei’s “family bucket” or LI’s “Daddy Cars,” but do pursue tech experience and luxury features.
Li Weimeng revealed to Wallstreetcn that the LS9 exceeded 5,000 confirmed orders within 25 minutes of launch. “Originally, tentative orders already exceeded our internal expectations, firm orders also exceeded my personal expectations.”
As the flagship IM brand project for SAIC, after finally making use of SAIC’s strengths, it has grabbed a ticket to the high-end market, and after many ups and downs, it finally welcomes a moment of rebirth.
Below is the edited transcript of conversations with IM Auto’s Co-CEO Liu Tao, CMO Li Weimeng, CTO Xiang Jiao:
Q: Internal positioning for the LS9?
Liu Tao: IM LS9 is both SAIC’s flagship and IM’s flagship—a milestone for IM’s 5-year development.
SAIC has delivered over 94 million new vehicles; the group itself is very strong in technological accumulation, all top technologies will be first used in IM, and for the LS9, all applied at the highest level. From an industry perspective, IM’s Stellar Super Extended Range with its Super Xiaoyao Battery is a generational leader; Momenta currently holds the top market share in China, and we work very closely together.
Flagship configuration, top-level technology, plus the most sincere rights and price, it will definitely become a flagship blockbuster.
Li Weimeng: From the user's perspective, we want a product experience that matches their living environment and their life stage. The "large flat" space setting, 24-hour hot water freedom, 4D mechanical massage—all are designed for this age group, and very precisely so.
Good technology in this era, under the premise of full competition in the domestic market, must also have a good price. This is thanks to SAIC’s decades of supply chain backing, allowing us to lower the threshold for top technology.
Q: Who is the target customer for IM LS9?
Li Weimeng: From the start of developing the big six-seater, we wondered: what kind of unique six-seater do users of this era really need? Before this, the user might be someone who loves performance cars or who occasionally goes off-road. At the same time, they have high demands for driving quality and the quality of the tech. But upon reaching this life stage—when switching to a big six-seater—it might seem a compromise for family, for oneself. In early R&D, we thought: we must create a car that both lets the family sit comfortably and allows the owner to drive comfortably.
Q: For models priced 300k–400k, user preference is strongest for power and handling. How does IM balance this?
Xiang Jiao: The auto industry has been around a long time, but everyone still wants “to ride Benz, drive BMW,” right? A large six-seat SUV always faces this zero-sum game in tuning—comfort or handling.
So we upgraded the chassis to the Lingxi Digital Chassis 3.0, using new-era smart technology to solve this zero-sum problem. This time, we especially upgraded the rear-wheel steering angle, now the largest two-way 24 degrees in the industry; such a big car can be as nimble as a Polo.
Second, smart suspension—this system ensures that during dynamic movement, overall rigidity can be quickly adjusted, initial vehicle frequency can be set low for comfort, yet allows room for quick adjustment.
Third, hardware upgrades are not enough, most important is that Lingxi Digital Chassis 3.0 has a smart “brain,” letting actuators coordinate control—steering, braking, smart suspension all controlled together, letting everyone have top-level handling comparable to large five-seat SUVs.
Q: What is LS9’s “killer feature” in this year’s Chinese midsize SUV, especially Series 9 SUV, competition?
Liu Tao: As a flagship, IM LS9 can’t have any shortboards and must have super obvious longboards. The “bucket theory” is not quite applicable in autos—cars carry safety, performance, etc.—it’s like an enhanced version of the bucket theory.
Our performance, handling, intelligence, luxury—every aspect is flagship. If I must pick one, I’d choose our Lingxi Digital Chassis 3.0, which IM has consistently built over the years—certainly a higher threshold than a refrigerator, TV, or sofa. Only with long-term effort can the longboard be very long.
Molding longboards cannot be mere tech self-indulgence—it must consider the user's perspective. After much analysis and research, we clearly found this pain point: big cars were hard to drive.
Actually, Chinese people—especially men over 40—still love big cars. But big cars used to be hard to drive, wives oppose buying them, you can drive but your wife can’t. If we solve this, flagship SUVs and six-seaters will have a much bigger market.
We really want the second and third row to stretch out comfortably, don’t want the car stuck in urban traffic jams. Here, 24-degree smart rear-wheel steering lets you have your cake and eat it too.
For IM, after 5 years of accumulation, we've chosen a hard road. We didn't reject refrigerator, TV, sofa, but our Lingxi Digital Chassis, through deep understanding of vehicle dynamics, made the LS6 very easy to drive, and made big flagship LS9 easier, too. This is a long-term accumulation.
About brand accumulation, I believe in value regaining. In 2014–15, during the first smart NEV startup wave, people from internet thought they could do great things—the market was chaotic then. But value always regains; I’ve always thought smart NEVs don't follow the same logic as smart phones. With phones, you are always the master, but with smart cars, it’s about safe mobility.
After value regaining, users will pay for real tech innovations driven by real needs. So whether it’s our brand, tech accumulation, or user experience, I believe this year, it's arrived at the right timing.
Since IM LS6 launched, it still faces big production/supply challenges due to strong user demand—capacity is climbing. LS9’s report just came out, and this time, we’re better prepared.
Q: Why did IM LS9 choose "Super Extended Range" technology?
Xiang Jiao: Backed by SAIC, IM doesn’t lack traditional power tech, but we chose Super Extended Range, exactly from user needs. When designing SER, we considered the pain points of NEV users: when the battery is low, do you no longer feel the sense of "electrification"?
Besides the big battery with super-long pure electric range, more importantly, even up to 1,500 km is supercharging-equipped, and even with low battery, power and acceleration feel are like an EV, quietness too, and minimum energy consumption. That’s why we chose the current Super Extended Range system.
Q: Changes in LS9 marketing/promotion this time?
Li Weimeng: LS9 exceeded 5,000 firm orders in 25 minutes of launch. Actually, tentative orders already exceeded our expectations, confirmed orders exceeded mine too. Many partners told me that everyone around them seems to have noticed the car. Before, you might need to actively ask “Want to try?” but this time, many friends came to them proactively, wanting to try our flagship.
This is not only due to one hot car, but the result of IM’s 5 years of brand accumulation—our persistence on many techs, return to value, and at this point, with SAIC’s great flagship product as a strong boost, this explosion happened.
Currently, IM is accelerating network/channel expansion—by year-end will cover 150 cities, 100% coverage of tier 1/2 cities, nearly 85% of tier 3, over 50% of tier 4; flexible deployment of fast/slow points—overall more than 500 locations.
Q: Will there be some high-custom versions in later LS9 iterations?
Xiang Jiao: Competitors moved TV, fridge, sofa into cars early—these do meet simple user needs. What we do, including the underfloor heating you saw this time and other details, are based on deeper user insights. Each user has different, diverse needs. Introducing the underfloor heating system this time is to give users another option in big six-seater family usage, letting everyone find the best choice for their own scenario.
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