IM Motors' New LS6 Puts Full Line-Control Chassis in the 200,000-Yuan Segment

The launch followed China's implementation on July 1, 2026, of GB17675-2025, a national standard for steer-by-wire systems led by SAIC Motor. On September 16, Li Auto launched the i9 with steer-by-wire and rear-wheel steering as standard. Li Xiang, Li Auto's founder, said on Weibo that large space and good handling should be achieved through technological progress rather than by simply making vehicles bigger, according to Leiphone.com.

Leiphone.com quoted a product manager as saying that buying a car without a line-control chassis today is comparable to buying a car without over-the-air updates in 2020, without lidar in 2022, without a 400-volt system in 2023, or without a digital chassis in 2025. The manager said such hardware is fixed at delivery and cannot be added later through software updates. The report said NIO has developed its own chassis domain controller, Li Auto emphasizes steer-by-wire and rear-wheel steering on a 400,000-yuan flagship, and Huawei treats the chassis as a programmable physical interface.

IM Motors describes the value of the line-control chassis in three areas: safety, autonomous driving, and daily handling. For safety, the company ran an internal 'Safety Five-Exam' in a test area of more than 20 meters. Six fans generated crosswinds, heavy rain fell, a truck hit the vehicle, a tire blew out during the impact, and an obstacle box suddenly dropped ahead. The car stayed in its lane and stopped safely. Xu Yin, deputy general manager of IM Motors, said the video was not AI-generated but filmed with a real car. The LS6 has a steering response time of 20 milliseconds and a '2+1' triple redundancy system. If both front-wheel steering backups fail, rear-wheel steering and braking can coordinate to bring the vehicle safely to the roadside, according to the report.

For autonomous driving, decoupling the steering wheel from the wheels allows smoother handover between human driving and system control, the report said. IM Motors plans to launch its second-generation full-stack line-control chassis in 2027, with the ability to support L3 autonomous driving.

For daily driving, the LS6 is a five-seat SUV measuring 4,937 millimeters. It has bidirectional 18-degree rear-wheel steering and a minimum turning radius of 4.49 meters, which Leiphone.com described as more agile than a Volkswagen Polo. The report described three steering ranges: 180 degrees for tight U-turns, 240 degrees for highway lane changes, and 503 degrees for mountain roads. Removing the mechanical connection also filters vibration from the road to the steering wheel.

IM Motors began installing rear-wheel steering as standard on its first model, the L7, in 2022, when most flagship models offered it only as a top-trim option. The L7 had 12 degrees of rear-wheel steering, tuning by Williams Advanced Engineering, and a minimum turning radius of 5.4 meters. Leiphone.com reported that an internal debate considered cutting rear-wheel steering to save cost and adding a large screen instead, but the proposal was rejected. The company later introduced its self-developed Lizard digital chassis and made four-wheel steering standard across its products. The fourth-generation LS6 adopts the full line-control chassis. Xu Yin said cost-cutting was not possible. The report said SAIC Group's more than decade-long layout, self-developed steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire systems, and key ECU supply from SAIC-affiliated Lianchuang Electronics helped reduce costs and localize key components. SAIC also led the drafting of the steer-by-wire national standard. Xiang Jiao, IM Motors' CTO, said the company does not compromise in areas that are not easily seen.

Beyond the chassis, the LS6 includes three-electric systems, smart driving features, an AI agent, large interior space, and comfort features, according to Leiphone.com. IM Motors said its NEXT 2028 strategy aims to bring technologies planned for three years later into today's products.