MG confirms new IM Motors line-up

MG’s new electric luxury sub-brand IM Motors will launch in Australia within months, with five variants of two models including a performance flagship capable of hitting 100km/h in under three seconds.

Guaranteed to have pricing pitched under $100,000, the initial line-up of IM Presented by MG – as it will be known here – comprises two iterations of the IM5 saloon and three IM6 SUVs.

That pricing will place the IMs below the $121,980 drive away MG Cyberster flagship, but well above the next most expensive model in the current line-up, the $59,912 MG4 XPower.

But MG Motors Australia chief commercial officer Giles Belcher said the pricing gap between the IM models and the rest of the range would soon dissipate as a further five new models are launched this year and at least four more in 2026.

“The MG brand is changing,” he said.

“By the end of this year we will start to see that ladder of products all the way through for different people in different lifestyles. By the end of the year you will see that it will make sense.”

Four other incoming 2025 new models were presented alongside the IMs at the Melbourne Motor Show last weekend.

They included the MG U9 ute making its global debut and three other cars making their local debuts – the MG S5 compact electric SUV, the MG QS seven-seat SUV, and the MG HS Hybrid+ medium SUV.

The HS Super Hybrid and MG7 sedan will also launch in Australia in 2025.

“As a brand we are growing,” Belcher explained. “We started off in the value end of the market and that’s the truth.

“But I think if you look at the new iterations of all those models they’re a massive leap forward in sophistication and design and tech.

“So the vehicles you see [at the show] – and the IM is probably the pinnacle from the technology point of view – just fills more of that brand promise.”

MG has set ambitious sales growth targets for itself in Australia. It wants 60,000 sales in 2025, to be top five in the market by 2027 (roughly 75,000), and to be top three by 2030 (90,000-plus).

To do that it wants to position a quality vehicle at every $10,000 price-point.

“When you think about it now we’ve got the HS, then we go to the Hybrid+ and Super Hybrid, then we’ve got the QS, then we go from a price-point view to the ute, which will fill in there somewhere.

“We have MG7 to fit in there somewhere as well, just not quite sure where that fits in at the moment.

“Then we go to the IMs and then we go to the Cyberster.”

The three IM6 models are the RWD, the Platinum RWD and the Platinum AWD. There are two IM5 models: the Platinum RWD and Platinum AWD.

The IM6s measure up at 4904mm long, 1988mm wide and1669mm high. The IM5s are 4931mm/1960mm/1474mm. Both models roll on the same 2950mm wheelbase.

IM6 RWD gets a 75kWh battery while all other models get a 100kWh battery as standard. NEDC range varies from a low of 505km (IM6 RWD) to 755km (IM5 Platinum RWD).

The IM6 RWD makes 217kW/450Nm from its solitary e-motor, while the Platinum RWDs up that to 300kW/500Nm. The AWDs twin e-motors make 200kW+372kW/302Nm+500Nm.

IM claims a spectacular 2.74-second zero to 100km/h time for the IM5 Platinum AWD, while the IM6 equivalent does it in 3.48 seconds. The RWDs are spaced in the 4.6 to 6.4-second bracket. Claimed top speed is as high as 240km/h for both AWDs and as low as 200km/h for the base model.

Key technical innovations include 12-degree four-wheel steering with Crab Mode so the cars can move diagonally.

Artificial Intelligence aids with parking and driving safely on wet nights with the aid of surround-view cameras.

Inside, the IMs feature a 26.3-inch driver’s touch-screen and a second 10.5-inch central screen, a 20-speaker sound system and even magnetic accessories to attach devices such as tablets.

“These cars are the most advanced cars anyone will be able to buy in Australia this year,” said Belcher. “The technology in them is unbelievable.

“It’s a halo car. It’s the same with Cyberster. We launched that with a nod to the past and this is a nod to the future.

“You look at the technology, the AI interfaces in the car, it really is a future-focussed car.

“It just helps people look at the brand in a different way. I think it will have an effect on the whole brand.”

Asked how the success of IM would be defined in Australia, Belcher avoided any sales forecasts.

“[It’s] how it’s embraced by the public,” he said. “Whether that’s volume or customer satisfaction, I haven’t really sat down and thought it through yet.”

However, considering the IM line-up will be available for sale through MG’s entire Australian dealer network, rather than selected outlets, there’s clearly some expectation of buyer interest.

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