With a thick viper under the grass
During the Goodwood Festival of Speed, MG showcased two new models from a new model line: the MG IM5 and the MG IM6. Although MG presents them to the public with much fanfare, the two are not as new as MG pretends.
The MG IM5 and IM6 have been around for a while, but not as models of MG. The MG IM6 – an electric crossover – already appeared on the Chinese market in 2023 as IM LS6. The IM5 – an electric sedan – was launched in its home country of China a year later as IM L6. IM is the brand that is fully called IM Motors. That is in turn a collaboration between a district of the Chinese city of Shanghai (Pudong), webshop giant Alibaba and SAIC Motors. There lies the link with MG, SAIC Motors is after all the parent company of MG. In Australia and Thailand, the IM L6 and IM LS6 are already sold as MG M5 and MG M6. So that’s not really new either. Then the question of all questions: are they coming to the Netherlands? It doesn’t seem like it. The manufacturer explicitly states that the MG IM5 and IM6 are ‘not yet’ being marketed in the Netherlands.
Then in a nutshell what we are missing. The MG IM5 is an electric sedan that is 4.93 meters long. It has a wheelbase of 2.95 meters and is available with rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. In its home country of China, the car is available with a 75 kWh LFP battery and with 83 kWh and 100 kWh NMC batteries. The platform has 800v on-board voltage, the model has four-wheel steering and has a remarkable link with Audi. With AUDI, to be precise. Recently Audi launched a new brand in China called AUDI. In capitals, indeed. The first car from AUDI is the E5 and it shares its platform and therefore also technology with the IM L6/MG M5. Then the MG IM6, or the IM LS6. That is of course the SUV brother of the IM5. It is 4.91 meters long and has the same wheelbase as the IM5.
The MG IM5 will in any case be launched in the United Kingdom. The variant with 75 kWh will cost the equivalent of €45,700. The Tesla Model 3, which is a lot smaller, costs the equivalent of €46,350. So they are quite close to each other. The MG IM6 has a starting price of €55,600 in the United Kingdom. The Model Y costs at least €52,150 there.