Nowadays, information in the automotive industry updates so rapidly. What used to dominate the headlines for days might only stay in the spotlight for a day or even just a few hours now. Amidst all the recent major news, there’s one piece of information worth highlighting, and that’s IM Motors securing over 8 billion yuan in Series B equity financing. This should be the largest new car financing deal of 2024 so far.

8 billion yuan is no small amount. It’s something that struggling new players in the automotive industry dream of. However, for IM Motors, backed by SAIC Group, money isn’t the most crucial factor.

As the saying goes, “Love flows to those who don’t lack love, and money flows to those who don’t lack money.”

The reality is just that cruel.

1. Behind the 8 Billion Financing

Compared to the 8 billion financing amount, what’s more crucial is the roles of the various parties involved in the financing. By delving deeper, you’ll uncover more interesting information.

IM Motors’ Series B financing is led by Zhongyin Asset, a subsidiary of Bank of China, with participation from Nongyin Investment, Lingang Group, and others. SAIC Group, Gongyin Investment, Jiaoyin Investment continue to invest, with follow-up investment from technology companies such as CATL, Momenta, and Qingtao Energy.

Here we see both continued confidence from Chinese state-owned capital and deep integration with technology enterprises. We mainly focus on the latter.

CATL

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited is well-known to everyone as the leader in the global power battery field. Their involvement in IM Motors at this critical stage of new car entry into the elimination round implies a strong vote of confidence from them towards IM Motors.

Previously, SAIC Group deeply participated in the growth of CATL (investment) and established a joint venture company to deepen cooperation. Now, investing in IM Motors also signifies that both parties have completed a deeper level of interest and resource binding.

Momenta

Similarly, there’s the autonomous driving startup, Momenta. IM Motors has had a long-standing cooperation with Momenta, jointly developing the IM AD intelligent driving system. Additionally, SAIC Group has twice invested in Momenta. Now, Momenta’s investment in IM Motors will help both parties further deepen their cooperation in the field of intelligent driving.

Qingtao Energy

Another company worth mentioning is Qingtao Energy. Many people are not familiar with this company. Qingtao Energy is also a battery supplier, specializing in solid-state batteries.

SAIC Group has a very close cooperation with Qingtao Energy, having participated in multiple investments in the latter. As of the end of August 2023, SAIC Group had invested approximately 2.9835 billion yuan in Qingtao Energy, indirectly holding about 15.29% of its shares, making it its largest shareholder.

The two parties also established a joint venture, SAIC Qingtao, in August last year to develop a new generation of semi-solid-state batteries. These batteries will be used in IM Motors’ flagship model L6, which will be launched this year, and the maximum range of the CLTC will exceed 1,000 kilometers. Now, with Qingtao Energy investing in IM Motors, it’s another mutually beneficial choice.

Therefore, this financing is not just a simple financial investment, but more about resource binding. It is conducive to forming strategic synergy between the upstream and downstream of the industry chain, continuously expanding IM Motors’ ecosystem, helping IM Motors better integrate resources, and enhancing its competitiveness.

Plan

Regarding how this money will be used, IM Motors has outlined several points:

1) Used for the development of next-generation intelligent vehicles.

2) Research and development of advanced intelligent driving and future smart cabin technologies.

3) Accelerating expansion of market channels.

4) Venturing into overseas markets.

This year will be a crucial year for IM Motors to break through.

2. Product Refresh and New Releases

IM Motors’ true development started with the LS6, which was IM Motors’ first hit model. In its first month on the market (October), it sold 3,627 units, and sales rose to 8,156 units and 9,878 units in November and December, respectively.

By February of this year, the IM Motors LS6 had been the best-selling “mid-to-large-sized pure electric SUV” for four consecutive months.

In late February, the all-new IM Motors L7 was officially launched with a starting price of 299,900 yuan. It is equipped with the “only class-leading full-time four-wheel intelligent control chassis”, upgraded across the board to 5D luxury executive seats, and comes with laser radar + Orin X chip as standard.

In addition, there’s an 8,000 yuan deduction discount, a value of 54,300 to 55,800 yuan in configuration upgrades, and the IM AD intelligent driving full-function package valued at 36,800 yuan is also available for free for life. Even the entry-level model has high specifications and is very competitive, showing IM Motors’ sincerity.

Furthermore, the all-new IM Motors L6, which integrates advanced intelligent electrification technology, will also be launched this year. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 2 seconds and has a maximum range of over 1,000 km according to CLTC.

With the LS6 already performing so well, expectations are even higher for the L6.

In terms of sales, IM Motors sold 38,253 vehicles last year. This year, IM Motors has set a target of 120,000 to 130,000 units for itself, aiming high.

Clearly, both the L6 and LS6 bear heavy responsibilities.

In addition to refreshing and releasing new products, IM Motors has also begun to seek sales overseas.

3. Rapidly Going Global

In February of this year, IM Motors made its first appearance at the Geneva Motor Show, marking its first step towards internationalization.

Unlike other brands that need to start from scratch to establish sales and service systems in overseas markets, IM Motors will fully leverage SAIC Group’s existing network of over 2,000 channels covering more than 100 countries’ mainstream segmented markets to efficiently enter overseas markets.

Specifically, in 2024, the IM Motors L7 and LS7 will debut in emerging markets such as Mexico, the Middle East, South America, and Southeast Asia. In 2025, the IM Motors LS6 and L6 will enter the global market.

Why is it said that IM Motors has this capability?

In terms of overseas exports, SAIC has always been a leader, ranking first in the domestic industry for eight consecutive years. With SAIC Group’s strong overseas marketing network, mature operational management model, and good international cooperation relationships, IM Motors can save a lot of time and costs and enter overseas markets more quickly, accelerating the brand’s globalization process. At the same time, expanding into overseas markets can also enhance IM Motors’ international influence, thereby benefiting its domestic market development.

A very typical case is the MG brand. In 2007, MG launched its “global strategy” for going global. In 2009, 2011, and 2017, MG’s global annual sales surpassed the thresholds of 10,000, 50,000, and 150,000 units respectively. 2019, MG’s global sales reached 300,000 units, and it became the “China’s single-brand overseas sales champion” for the first time. In 2023, MG’s global sales reached 840,000 units, ranking first in China’s single-brand exports for five consecutive years. This year, MG is aiming to challenge annual sales of 1 million.

IM Motors’ task

Now, the focus of going global has shifted to IM Motors. IM Motors’ task is clear: to tell the IM Motors story to overseas users and establish a high-end brand image in overseas markets, leading SAIC Group’s globalized products into the high-end intelligent automobile market in major overseas markets.

However, achieving this goal is not easy.

4. Intelligent Breakthrough

The efforts made by IM Motors in advancing its intelligent strategy are evident to all.

Regarding the NOA (Navigate on Autopilot) on highways and expressways, the functionality was officially launched in April 2023 and achieved nationwide coverage by December of the same year, in just 8 months.

As for urban NOA, on January 23rd, the IM Motors urban NOA was officially launched, with the main urban areas of Shanghai being the first to open. Not only is the landing speed fast, but IM Motors’ advanced intelligent driving experience is also excellent, and its usability is very high.

This means that IM Motors’ NOA for highways and expressways, as well as urban NOA, are both steadily leading the industry.

IM Motors managed to catch up with competitors who had 9 years of intelligent driving experience in just over 2 years, a speed that is not common in the entire industry.

Future plan

According to IM Motors, 2024 will be the “harvest year” for IM AD advanced intelligent driving:

In the first quarter, the nationwide public beta of the urban commuting mode will be launched.

In June, the map-free urban NOA will be launched to accelerate city openings.

Throughout the year, commuting mode will be opened in hundreds of cities.

Throughout the year, advanced intelligent driving functions such as one-button AI driving 2.0, memory parking, and parking in stereo parking garages will also be rolled out one after another.

However, considering that the intelligent driving of leading players has already begun to be “able to drive across the country,” IM Motors’ actions need to be even faster.

In addition, IM Motors has become one of the first Chinese brands to obtain an L3 road test license. From the current trend and policy orientation, this year is likely to be the first year of L3 autonomous driving landing. IM Motors has started early positioning and layout, which is very forward-looking.

Smart cabins and smart controls

In addition to intelligent driving, IM Motors has also made advancements in smart cabins and smart controls. About cabins, it brings a variety of innovative features such as full-domain digital vision filling the blind spot, rain and night mode, and one-button AI driving, while also adding large models to the car. In terms of smart controls, IM Motors will launch the “ICS intelligent comfort braking” function in the first quarter of this year, integrating IM Motors’ self-developed algorithms with high-performance braking hardware to bring better braking performance and improve driving experience.

How diligent was IM Motors last year? The IM Motors vehicle system was iterated 13 times throughout the year, with as many as 8 major OTA updates, making it one of the car companies with the most software iterations.

This new round of financing will also accelerate the research and development of IM Motors’ advanced intelligent driving, smart cabin, and smart control technologies, creating deeper and wider “moats” for the brand’s long-term development.

Intelligence is becoming one of the key factors in IM Motors’ breakthrough.

5. Conclusion

Let’s summarize IM Motors’ three major tasks for this year:

1) Achieve annual sales of 120,000 units.

2) Expand overseas.

3) Maintain industry leadership in intelligence.

Each task is extremely challenging.

At the same time, 2024 is destined to be an extraordinary year. The special aspect is that at this point in time, your most feared opponent, Apple, is not participating, and all other contenders have already entered the arena. The window for new car manufacturing has officially closed, and at the same time, the price war is intensifying. This will be a fierce battle in the new car market, determining winners and losers, and even life and death.

Securing an 8 billion yuan financing, IM Motors has made a good start for itself this year. Next, it remains to be seen how IM Motors will accomplish its own counterattack and evolution.