On the evening of August 1, 2025, IM Motors officially unveiled its “Stellar” super range-extended system at a dedicated technology launch event. The new system combines a 1.5T engine with electric motors and features a 66 kWh battery pack, delivering a pure electric range exceeding 450km and a combined range of over 1500km.

The company announced that the first vehicle to feature this system—the all-new IM LS6—will begin pre-sales on August 15, while the flagship six-seater SUV—the IM LS9, which has already appeared in Ministry of Industry and Information Technology filings—will be officially launched in the fourth quarter of 2025.

IM Motors’ “Stellar” super range-extended system pairs a Zephyr 1.5T range-extension engine with an 800V silicon carbide “Hurricane” electric motor. The engine employs a VTG variable cross-section turbocharger for enhanced overall turbocharging efficiency. According to official specifications, the system achieves a combined fuel-electric consumption as low as 2.07L/100km.

For the battery component, IM Motors has utilised the “Super Freevoy MAX” battery jointly developed with CATL. The 66kWh total capacity enables a maximum pure electric CLTC range exceeding 450 kilometres. At 16% State of Charge (SoC), the battery can still deliver a discharge power of 275.5kW.

Editor’s comment

Same on August 1, 2025, the Deepal S05 launched a long-range version with a pure electric range of 620 km. How big is its battery? It’s 68.8 kWh, just slightly larger than the battery in the IM Motors “Stellar” range-extended system. Previously, the Deepal S05 was equipped with a maximum battery capacity of 56.1 kWh. This indicates that even for pure electric vehicles, a 66 kWh battery is more than sufficient.

Users experience range anxiety, while automakers face range-extended anxiety. The significant sales success of Li Auto and Aito has led many manufacturers to believe that range extenders are a panacea for boosting sales.

In China, the operating costs of electric vehicles are much lower than those of gasoline cars, resulting in a peculiar phenomenon where buyers of range-extended vehicles rarely use gasoline due to high costs. This raises the question: if that’s the case, why not simply purchase a pure electric vehicle? Currently, even owners of range-extended or plug-in hybrid vehicles try to minimise gasoline use, indicating that range extenders and plug-in hybrids are merely transitional solutions.