Bitget Guide: IM Motors Returns to the RMB 350,000 SUV Red Ocean

What Happened

On July 16, IM Motors officially launched the LS9 Hyper with an entitlement price of RMB 349,800. The company also introduced the LS9 52 Ultra steer-by-wire version at an entitlement price of RMB 319,800.

The launch came in a highly competitive high-end new-energy SUV segment. The supplied brief describes the RMB 350,000 large six-seat SUV band as one of the most crowded parts of the market, with new models still arriving even as demand has not expanded at the same pace.

According to the supplied event, domestic passenger-car retail sales in the first half of 2026 reached 8.701 million units, down 20.2% year over year. More than 600 new models were launched in the same half-year period, averaging at least three new models per day.

The Direct Market Read

The decision-useful read is simple: IM Motors is using technology and price to fight for attention in a market where brand strength, configuration, delivery speed, and user trust all matter. This is not IM Motors' first entry into the RMB 350,000 band; the supplied brief says earlier L7 and LS7 models had already entered that price range.

The LS9 Hyper is positioned around what IM Motors calls the new three major components: next-generation chassis, next-generation intelligence, and next-generation electric system. The most concrete evidence in the brief is the chassis story, especially steer-by-wire and rear-wheel steering.

The supplied brief says IM Motors brought steer-by-wire chassis and dual 24-degree rear-wheel steering into the RMB 350,000 class. It also states that the nearly 5.3-meter LS9 Hyper can achieve a 4.77-meter minimum turning radius. These are product claims from the event material, not independent test results in this article.

Why The Chassis Claim Matters

The brief frames steer-by-wire as a feature that is usually reserved for models above RMB 600,000 as standard or optional equipment. IM Motors' strategy is to make that technology more visible in a lower price band and use it as a differentiation point against strong rivals.

IM Motors CTO Xiang Jiao is quoted in the supplied material as saying the company's technology judgment is that a fully steer-by-wire digital chassis will become the physical foundation for higher-level intelligent driving and more intelligent products. That meaning is directly supported by the source text.

The source also attributes cost-control logic to Xiang Jiao: full-stack self-research to reduce black-box pricing, SAIC's role as a lead drafter of the new steer-by-wire national standard, earlier technical preparation to shorten development time and cost, and SAIC supply-chain scale in chips and actuators. This should be read as the company's explanation, not as audited cost data.

Where Demand Is Still Unproven

The supplied brief is clear that the product argument still needs delivery data. It says the strategy can only be answered by statistically observable orders and deliveries, which means the launch itself is not enough to prove success.

The segment context is difficult. The brief says many large six-seat SUV models sell fewer than 2,000 units per month, while only individual models consistently exceed 10,000 units per month. It also says more than 20 mid-to-high-end new products are expected to enter this segment across the full year.

That means the key question is not whether the LS9 Hyper has an unusual specification sheet. The key question is whether enough buyers understand, trust, and value the steer-by-wire system to change their purchase decision before competitors respond.

SAIC And Momenta Context

The LS9 Hyper also carries a broader SAIC high-end narrative. The supplied event says SAIC became the first Chinese auto company to exceed 100 million cumulative global production and sales in May 2026, and that the LS9 Hyper was described as the milestone work for the first 100 million units.

IM Motors' scale is still smaller than several peer brands named in the brief. In the first half of 2026, IM Motors delivered 40,087 vehicles, up 58% year over year. The same source lists Zeekr at 178,400, Voyah at 76,300, IM Motors at about 40,100, and Avatr at 27,600 for the same period.

Jiao Qiao's quoted assessment is cautious rather than celebratory: the supplied material says he described first-half growth as good versus last year, while also saying the company still needed to keep moving forward. The source also attributes to him a second-half product cadence, including LS6 and L6 battery-electric annual updates in August to September, an LS8 battery-electric version in October, and other new models near year-end.

Practical Checks For Readers

The first check is delivery data after launch. If LS9 Hyper is meant to validate a price-and-technology strategy, monthly deliveries will matter more than launch language or configuration tables.

The second check is user acceptance of steer-by-wire. The supplied brief says the system offers three modes: a 470-degree mode close to traditional feel, a 240-degree recommended mode, and a 180-degree sport mode. It also says the steering ratio tends toward a traditional high steering ratio at highway speeds to maintain stability. Watch whether owners describe this as useful or as a learning curve.

The third check is competitive response. The brief names Xpeng GX's top trim at the same RMB 349,800 price and Nio ES8 entering below RMB 400,000 under a BaaS battery-rental plan. If competitors follow quickly on chassis, intelligence, or price, IM Motors' technical window may narrow.

The fourth check is data quality. The supplied Chinese text contains one visibly corrupted phrase around the second-half product cadence, so the concrete dated items should be separated from that corrupted fragment. The article therefore relies only on the intact claims in the supplied event brief.

Risk And Bitget Context

This event should be treated as sector context, not as a financial signal. The supplied brief does not name affected crypto assets, does not provide equity-market reaction data, and does not prove any ranking, traffic, registration, or conversion outcome.

For readers who already use Bitget to organize market research, this guide can sit beside broader watchlist work on China EV, smart-driving, and industrial-technology narratives. It should not be used as a reason to buy, sell, or hold any asset.

Risk disclosure: high-end new-energy vehicle competition is intense, buyer demand is uncertain, technology adoption can take time, and launch claims may not convert into deliveries. This article does not provide investment advice and does not account for any reader's financial position, objectives, or risk tolerance.