It may be an awkward name, but it helps save you a lot of money.
The new iM Motors presented by MG has just arrived in Australia and while the name is a mouthful (and likely will be shortened to iM by most) the partnership with MG will be crucial to its success or failure.
That’s because, even though iM is positioned as a technology-led luxury brand in its domestic market it will partner with MG in Australia to take advantage of its already established network of showroom and other backend business operations.
Stephen Xu, sales and marketing director for overseas markets at iM Motors, was in Australia for the official launch yesterday and revealed that by partnering with MG the company was able to save up to $10,000 off each model it sells here.
“We did some calculations that if we build the iM [brand] independently, it may take $10,000 per extra car,” Xu told Torquecafe.
“We need to build the showroom, build up the sales, build up all the things… and we may need to add this extra money to the car. So, right now we provide the strong performance, the hi-tech, the intelligence with an affordable price. I think it’s a better choice for customers.”
The new brand is arriving with two models, the iM5 sedan and iM6 SUV. The two models are priced the same, starting from $60,990 for the Premium rear-wheel drive, 75kWh battery model, steps up to $69,990 for the Platinum 100kWh battery version and tops out at $80,990 for the Performance model with 100kWh battery and all-wheel drive.
The arrival of iM comes amid a flurry of new brands hitting the Australian market, with most from the growing Chinese car industry. Xu said iM will target the electric vehicle leader, Tesla, with its initial two models, hoping to woo buyers based on its technology.
The brand is actually a joint-venture between MG parent company, SAIC Motors, and China’s answer to Amazon, Alibaba. Xu explained that, iIn simple terms, SAIC provides the hardware thanks to its decades of experience building cars, while Alibaba provides the software expertise.
Xu said he was confident that iM will make its mark in Australia, having already seen off a wide array of rivals in China.
“In China, maybe two or three years ago, we had hundreds of new brands for the new technology or the EV cars, but right now there’s [only] a few lasting,” he said. “Like it’s always the [brand’s with] strong backgrounds, like iM is the joint venture of SAIC Motors and Alibaba. SAIC Motor, which has been the biggest automobile company in China for 18 years, Alibaba is the biggest internet and tech company in China. So iM is the joint venture of these two big groups.”
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