Just like Niutron unveiled its first EV before the Beijing Auto Show, China’s biggest online commerce company, Alibaba, announced its first luxury EV has entered mass production and will begin shipping later this month. Actually, Alibaba had already involved the auto market long ago, including investing in XPeng, and signed a strategic cooperation agreement on “internet cars” in July 2014 with SAIC.
IM Motors, the joint venture between Chinese carmaker SAIC Motor, established the brand new IM L7 Sedan. The IM L7 Sedan is a high-end electric sedan that is less expensive than the Tesla Model S, which made its premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show in 2021. The IM L7 Sedan is a dual electric motor sedan with a combined output of roughly 536 horsepower and a 0-60 time of just 3.9 seconds. While this isn’t as speedy as the Model S Plaid, it is believed to suit enough for most people. A 93-kWh battery pack powers everything, with a range of 382 miles per charge. However, some rumours claim that a larger variant with a range of 500 miles will be offered. There’s also a wireless charging function of 11 kW and quick charging capabilities.
For the interior, there’s a massive 39-inch widescreen display above the steering wheel for all kinds of information and smart controls, as well as a smaller 12.8-inch infotainment display on the centre console. Inside the tail light bar, there’s even an LED display that can show information like “infant on board.”
Last December, the IM L7 Sedan had completed multiple test runs in China, and a batch of beta vehicles had been sent out to a small group of users for evaluation. According to Alibaba, the IM L7 will go on sale on March 29th, with orders shipping throughout April, when mass manufacturing at SAIC’s factory in Shanghai is already completed. The all-new IM L7 premium price starts at $66,500 USD.
