The Chinese Brand IM is Entering the Global Market, with the 2024 L7 Boasting a Range of over 700km

At the 100th Geneva International Motor Show in 2024, the Chinese brand IM made its overseas debut, marking the official entry into international markets. IM, along with brands like MG, is a member of the SAIC Group. The IM models exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show included the L7, LS7, LS6, and the upcoming L6, set to be launched in China later this year. Judging from the product competitiveness and positioning of IM models, it appears that they focus on a more high-end market segment, evident from the recent launch of the upgraded IM L7 in China. Although IM has not explicitly mentioned entry into the Thai market, let's first explore the upgrades introduced in the latest version of the export-focused IM L7.

On February 24th, the new IM L7 officially launched in China, offering four models with a price range of 299,900 to 419,900 million RMB (approximately 1,490,000-2,090,000 Thai Baht). As a facelift model, the new car focuses on enhancing intelligence and comfort, including an upgraded NVIDIA Orin X chip that enables City NOA function. Additionally, upgrades have been made to the rear seats. In terms of power, it continues to offer choices of a single-motor rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor all-wheel-drive, with CLTC standard electric range of 708km and 625km, respectively.

I. Changes in the Exterior of the New Model

About exterior design, the new IM L7 continues the styling of the current model, featuring the front face with avant-garde aesthetics. The unique and distinctive design of the headlights on both sides serves as a highlight for the entire vehicle, contributing to its extremely high recognition. Moreover, the front headlight assembly utilizes DLP light trace projection headlights that allow for personalized customization of diverse digital skins in a light language interaction, which provides another way to convey emotions.

On the side profile, the new Smart Me L7 adopts a fastback design with a long and elegant body. It features frameless doors, hidden door handles, and petal-style alloy wheels, which gives it a highly attractive appearance. In addition, it boasts a low drag coefficient of only 0.21Cd. Furthermore, the new model introduces identical color options, with the front and rear bumpers as well as side skirts matching the body color, which emphasizes a more luxurious style.

In terms of exterior dimensions, the IM L7 measures 5108/1960/1485mm in length, width, and height respectively, with a wheelbase of 3100mm. Compared to the previous model, the length has increased by 10mm, while the rest of the dimensions remain consistent.

II. Internal Changes in the New Car

Regarding interior design, the new IM L7 continues the layout design of the current model and features a through-type screen that can be lifted and lowered. It consists of a 26.3-inch OLED infotainment screen and a 15.5-inch OLED entertainment screen for the passenger seat, with a 12.8-inch 2K AMOLED control screen below. It is equipped with the IM OS intelligent infotainment system, and supports multi-finger screen control, four-zone voice awakening, 5G network, smartphone app remote control, and other functions. Additionally, the "One-click AI Chauffeur Service" function is available to provide a more convenient travel experience.

The new IM L7 also adopts a half-moon steering wheel design to enhance the technological atmosphere inside the car, reduce obstruction to the screens and offer better visibility. More importantly, the half-moon steering wheel provides a smaller steering ratio to enhance its handling.

In terms of intelligent driving, the new IM L7 has comprehensively upgraded to the NVIDIA Orin X assisted driving chip, with a computility of 254 TOPS, nearly 8 times higher than the current model's NVIDIA Xavier chip (30 TOPS). Additionally, the resolution of the two forward panoramic cameras has been increased from 5 million to 8 million pixels, combined with the onboard lidar, which enables it to possess Urban NOA capability. Currently, IM AD‘s NOA for highways and overpasses has been fully opened nationwide, while Urban NOA in the main urban areas of Shanghai has been opened first and will be rapidly expanded nationwide this year.

Concerning comfort, the new IM L7 has seen significant improvements. The rear seat cushion length has been increased by 30 millimeters, and a new electrically adjustable leg rest has been added. Additionally, the rear seats now feature a 10-degree electric adjustment. Apart from heating and ventilation functions, the rear seats also include multi-functional comfort features such as lumbar and shoulder massage, which greatly enhances the comfort experience for rear passengers.

III. High Performance with Four-Wheel Steering System and Electronic Controlled Intelligent Damping Suspension

In terms of power, the new IM L7 continues to offer a rear-wheel drive electric motor and optional dual-motor all-wheel drive. The single-motor version delivers a maximum power of 250 kilowatts and a peak torque of 475 Newton meters, with an official acceleration time of 5.9 seconds for 0-100km/h and a top speed of 200 km/h. The dual-motor version features a front motor with a maximum power of 175 kilowatts and a peak torque of 250 Newton meters, while the rear motor boasts a maximum power of 250 kilowatts and peak torque of 475 Newton meters. The system's combined power reaches 475 kilowatts with a combined torque of 715 Newton meters, achieving an official acceleration time of 3.87 seconds for 0-100 kilometers per hour, with the same top speed of 200 km/h.

In terms of range, the new IM L7 lineup is equipped with a 90-kilowatt-hour ternary lithium battery pack, offering a CLTC pure electric range of 708 kilometers and 625 kilometers (for the dual-motor all-wheel drive version). The vehicle supports fast charging as well as whole-vehicle wireless charging (with a maximum charging power of 11 kilowatts). However, it's worth noting that the IM L7 does not adopt IM's latest 800V dual silicon carbide platform.

As for the chassis, the IM L7 adopts a full aluminum structure with a front double-wishbone and rear multi-link independent suspension system. At the same time, it is equipped with a four-wheel steering system and electronically controlled intelligent damping suspension. Therefore, the turning radius is only 5.4 meters, comparable to typical compact cars. Additionally, the IM L7 has undergone chassis tuning by WAE (Williams Advanced Engineering), with validation of 108 performance indicators. It has previously set the record for the fastest production electric car at the Zhejiang International Circuit and holds the world record for the longest drift distance in an electric vehicle, which embodies remarkable handling and stability.

Another noteworthy mention is the upcoming release of the lower-positioned IM L6 in the Chinese market. Positioned as a mid-sized pure electric sedan, its dimensions are 4931/1960/1474mm in length, width, and height respectively, and with a wheelbase of 2950mm. It offers the option of a single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive. The price may present considerable surprises. For those with budget constraints or not requiring such a large vehicle size, it might be worth considering the IM L6 after its market launch.

(Author:  Kevin Wong)