The IM L6 will officially launch on May 13 with deliveries beginning by the end of May. Furthermore the car achieved pre-sales figures of over 10,000 within 23 hours of the opening of pre-sales earlier this month. Despite some Chinese media still claiming that the L6 is the first car to go on sale with a solid state battery we now know that the battery is not fully solid state.
Although claimed as having the first 900V ultra-fast charging solid-state battery the electrolyte is not fully solid. An electrolyte carries ions (the charged particles) between the battery’s two electrodes. We now know that although the Lightyear battery in the Lightyear Max version of the L6 has some solid material it is not completely solid unlike what is being claimed for solid state batteries from GAC and also Toyota which are currently not expected until 2026 and 2027 respectively.
Pre-sale prices for the L6 range from 230,000-330,000 yuan (31,750-45,600 USD) with three announced models. Length, width and height of the new car are 4931/1960/1474 mm, and the wheelbase is 2950 mm. The design is strongly in line with existing IM Motors models and the L6 has a coupe style shape. Interestingly the car is actually a hatchback rather than a true sedan, a style generally not very popular in China which might indicate it has been designed with European exports in mind.
The IM L6 is not a car for those who like physical buttons with dashboard acreage purely given over to screens. On top you have a 26.3-inch screen and where the dash marries the center console there is a further 10.5-inch touchscreen. Drivers get a half spoke steering wheel when seems more IM logo than anything else.
A self-developed “Hurricane motor” with a maximum speed of 21,000 rpm powers the IM L6 although it is not clear whether this is just for the dual motor versions. Single motor versions come with a maximum power of 216 kW while the dual motor has motors of 200 kW and 379 kW respectively which take the acceleration figure down to below three seconds.
Top of the range Lightyear Max versions of the IM L6 will get the 130 kWh semi-solid state battery which is promised to give the car a range of over 1000 km CLTC. Other versions will come with either a 90 or 100 kWh NCM battery from CATL. When officially launched there are likely to be at least four versions of the car on sale rather than the three announced during pre-sales judging from previously declared ranges for the car.
During the pre-sales event IM Motors made a lot of claims about the L6 versus the Xiaomi SU7 and obviously sees the car as a major competitor. Unfortunately some of the information to do with the SU7 power module was wrong and IM has faced a huge backlash from Xiaomi fans and others as a result. Cyber attacks subsequently targeted live broadcast rooms of IM Motors, the official IM account and the broadcast rooms of dealers.
Sources: Autohome, Fast Technology
