IM Motors "confronts" Xiaomi

The overwhelming traffic generated by Xiaomi's entry into the automotive industry has greatly shaken the new forces in the car circle, almost forcing everyone to benchmark Xiaomi.

One example is IM Motors, a new energy brand under SAIC. On the evening of April 8th, IM Motors' fourth new car, the L6, made its debut. During the presentation, IM Motors CEO Liu Tao repeatedly compared the L6 to Xiaomi's SU7, but was directly criticized by Xiaomi for a parameter error in the SU7 Max. IM Motors quickly issued two apology letters in response.

This incident has become a vivid portrayal of the extreme internal competition in the automotive industry, reflecting IM Motors' anxiety about sales.

Since its listing more than two years ago, IM Motors, positioned as a high-end brand, has struggled to achieve a significant breakthrough in sales. The L6, with its full product strength this time, is the strategic model for achieving a turnaround in sales this year.

With features such as a semi-solid-state battery with a range of 1,000 kilometers, a digitally controlled chassis capable of "crab walking," the IMOS car system that supports 99% of mobile phone ecosystems, and advanced intelligent driving capabilities, Liu Tao described the L6 as a super technological achievement of SAIC Group over the past decade.

In terms of configuration, the IM Motors L6 has certain advantages compared to competitors such as the Model 3, Xiaomi SU7, ZEEKR 007, Nio ET5T, and XPeng P7i, among others. With a pre-sale price range of 230,000 to 330,000 yuan, the L6 is indeed competitive. It is worth noting that the previous versions of ZEEKR 001 and Aiways LX with a range of 1,000 kilometers were priced at over 400,000 yuan.

In Liu Tao's view, there are two core consumer groups in the sedan market priced at over 200,000 yuan: the upscale "replacement" trend of the Model 3 and the intelligent "replacement" trend of the 34C (BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-Class).

"These two types of products are the competitors of the IM Motors L6," he bluntly stated.

Liu Tao believes that there is a great potential market of 80,000 to 100,000 young consumers in China who can afford compact high-end sedans every month.

Previously, with the support of SAIC Group, as well as two major shareholders, Alibaba Group and Zhangjiang High-Tech, IM Motors had all the resource advantages in car manufacturing, from platforms and intelligence to professional driving control tuning. In Liu Tao's view, their product strength has always been impeccable.

However, due to the lack of brand appeal, sales have been hovering at 1,000 to 2,000 units for a long time. It wasn't until the launch of the third model, the LS6, at the end of last year, with a price tag of just over 200,000 yuan, that IM Motors finally achieved monthly sales of over 10,000 units.

However, at the beginning of this year, their sales fluctuated again, dropping from the peak of tens of thousands of units in December last year to the current level of 2,000 units. This means that IM Motors needs more popular models like the L6 to boost sales and promote scale growth.

Furthermore, IM Motors also carries the vision of SAIC dominating the high-end electric vehicle race track, aiming to achieve an annual sales target of 120,000 to 130,000 units this year to maintain SAIC Group's high-end image. This means that IM Motors' sales need to triple year-on-year.

Two weeks ago, Xiaomi's entry disrupted the market, showing many brands the tremendous power of traffic effects and intensifying competition in the mainstream sedan market At this moment, Xiaomi is in direct confrontation with SU7 in terms of product positioning. IM Motors may also want to ride on Xiaomi's popularity to seize more orders in the 200,000-300,000 RMB market.

Apart from the dispute between the two parties, the market has also given certain positive feedback on the product itself. After 23 hours of release, L6 orders exceeded 10,000 units.

Insiders close to SAIC revealed that there has been no further discussion internally about the recent controversy with Xiaomi, but instead, they will focus on promoting the sales of L6.

For IM Motors and SAIC, the game is not over yet, as they still hold many cards.

Next, if IM Motors can accurately position itself in the mass market based on excellent product strength, there is an opportunity to continue replicating popular products and break the cycle of trading price for volume. This will indeed test Liu Tao's judgment of user needs.

As a new brand backed by SAIC Group, IM Motors has advantages in both technology and financing. In early March, it completed a Series B financing round of 8 billion RMB, which provided support for IM Motors to rethink and increase investment in research and development, accelerate overseas expansion, and make up for the shortfall in sales.

With resources at hand, the key now is to see if IM Motors can effectively utilize them, further gain user recognition, and overcome the challenge of scaling up.

In an increasingly intense competitive environment, will IM Motors become a high-end flagship of SAIC, or will it eventually fade into obscurity? This year, Liu Tao and IM Motors will both face a decisive battle