Audi Closes in on Chinese EV Platform for Future Models

Audi is reportedly close to signing an agreement with Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC for the purchase of intellectual property rights to an electric-vehicle platform used by its upmarket brand, IM Motors.

Audi plans to use the two-year-old structure to underpin a series of upcoming electric-powered models following delays to the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) being developed by Audi’s parent company, the Volkswagen Group, according to an Audi manager with knowledge of the pending agreement.

Among the existing IM Motors models based on the SAIC platform are the L7 sedan and the more recently introduced LS7 SUV (pictured, below left).

IM Motors LS7

According to information supplied by SAIC, the Nebula platform is engineered to support batteries of up to 79.6 ins. (2,022 mm) in length and both single- and dual-motor drivetrains with outputs from 150 to 600 kW (198 to 794 hp). It also supports both 400V- and 800V-drive electric architectures and wheelbases ranging between 106 and 122 ins. (2,692 and 3,099 mm).

IM Motors was founded in 2020 by SAIC, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech and the Alibaba Group as a luxury car brand based in Shanghai, China. SAIC is the majority shareholder.

Secrecy surrounds the future models Audi plans to base on the IM Motors platform, though insiders at its Ingolstadt headquarters in Germany suggest it could be suitable for production versions of the activesphere, urbansphere, skysphere and grandsphere concepts.

The Volkswagen Group’s existing Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB), J1 and Premium Platform Electric (PPE) structures have been deemed unsuitable for these planned models, Wards has been told.

The IM Motors L7 sedan was developed by SAIC with input from British-based Williams Engineering. In range-topping form, it receives a dual-motor drivetrain developing 565 hp and standard all-wheel drive, giving it a claimed 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time of 3.9 seconds. It is offered with either a standard 93-kWh or an optional 118-kWh battery – the latter claimed to provide it with a range of up to 621 miles (1,000 km) on the test procedure used in China.

Among the L7's more advanced features are standard 4-wheel steering and an automated driving system, which uses Nvidia’s Jetson Xavier chipset in combination with lidar, 12 cameras, 5-mm wave radars and 12 ultrasonic sensors.