Are you the kind of person that still believes electric vehicles will constantly leave you worrying about driving range? MG might be about to change your mind, with a new electric model capable of driving up to 800km between visits to a powerpoint.
MG Motors Australia CEO Peter Ciao has confirmed plans to introduce a pair of new electric vehicles from the iM Motors brand. This is a premium brand that is owned by SAIC Motors, the parent company of MG, and is a leader in new technology.
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Ciao has confirmed that the L6 sedan – a would-be rival to the likes of the Audi e-tron GT and BMW i5 – is coming to Australia alongside the LS6 SUV, which is an alternative to the likes of the Cadillac Lyriq and Polestar 3.
However, Ciao wasn’t able to confirm any more details as he’s still in negotiations with his superiors in Shanghai about the details of the new cars, including what badge they will wear. Ciao is clear that his preference is to call them ‘MG’ but that is a tricky discussion within the wider SAIC group.
“I’m very cautious to provide a formal answer to your question because I’m still negotiating with Shanghai,” Ciao said. “Yeah, because the SAIC Motors group is huge and every brand is independent in China.
“The models are coming, 100 per cent. But what badge we’re still negotiating.”
That means it’s unclear exactly what variant of the L6 we will receive here as the brand is on the verge of introducing the L6 Max Lightyear, which features a ground-breaking semi-solid state battery that gives it driving range well beyond anything currently offered in Australia. On the Chinese ‘CLTC’ testing protocol this new 133kWh battery is capable of more than 1000km of driving on a single charge. Even though on the more real-world format it’s closer to 800km, that’s still a massive breakthrough for an EV. In theory, it would make the L6 Max Lightyear capable of driving Sydney to Melbourne with a single charge – and not even a full charge, as it can add 400km in just 12 minutes.
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Solid state batteries are the next major leap forward for electric cars, as they can provide dramatically improved range from a smaller, lighter battery pack. However, they are still not fully developed for production use, iM’s new semi solid state is a step towards that.
However, there is no guarantee we’ll get the LS Max Lightyear in Australia in 2025, instead we could end up with the slightly older models, which includes the 579kW/800Nm L6 Max Super Performance.
Stay tuned for more details on these potentially market-altering EVs in the coming months as MG ramps up for their local launch in 2025.
Is 800km enough range to convince you to switch to an electric car?
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