IM Presented by MG Formally Launches IM5 and IM6 in Australia: $60,990 to $80,990 Driveaway, September Deliveries

Image credit: MG Motor Australia

SAIC finally cut the ribbon on its Australian luxury EV arm this week. IM Presented by MG Motor staged a Sydney harbour reveal for the IM5 sedan and IM6 SUV at White Bay Cruise Terminal on 30 July 2026, confirming pricing that walks between $60,990 and $80,990 driveaway and putting a hard date on customer deliveries in early September 2026. If you have been waiting to see whether MG's upmarket play would actually launch or quietly fade like some other SAIC premium projects, this is the answer.

What is genuinely interesting for anyone shopping the sub-$85k electric segment is that both cars are priced identically in every grade. The sedan and SUV cost the same at Premium, Platinum and Performance, so the pick-a-body choice is not a pricing decision, it is a shape decision. That is a rare thing in Australia and it means the entire buyer conversation is about range, boot, and how much you want an SUV badge.

Full Pricing

All prices are launch driveaway nationally through the MG dealer network. Metallic paint is included on Platinum and Performance and is currently a no-cost launch inclusion on Premium at most stores.

Two Batteries, Two Architectures

The step from Premium to Platinum is not just a bigger battery, it is a switched electrical architecture. The Premium runs a 75kWh lithium-iron-phosphate pack on a 400-volt system, capping DC fast charging around 153kW. That is fine for weekly errands but not remarkable in 2026. The Platinum and Performance move to a 100kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt pack on an 800-volt platform, and the DC peak rockets up to a claimed 396kW. On a matched charger that is a 10 to 80 per cent stop in roughly 15 minutes, comfortably inside the class-best group.

For a suburban driver who charges at home every night, Premium is enough. For anyone doing regular Sydney to Canberra, Melbourne to Ballarat, or Brisbane to Gold Coast runs, the extra $9,000 to Platinum buys back a genuine ten-minute charging saving per stop plus 165km more range in the sedan and 105km more in the SUV. That is real money over a five-year hold if you road-trip.

Powertrain and Performance

The Performance number is the one that will pull people into the showroom. A 572kW dual-motor sedan or SUV for $80,990 driveaway is inside the same money as a base MG IM5 Performance and cheaper than a comparable Tesla Model Y Performance ($82,900 before on-roads, or roughly $90k driveaway once you add stamp duty and registration). If you want the fastest new SUV under $90k right now, the IM6 Performance is on the shortlist.

Dimensions and Practicality

Image credit: MG Motor Australia

The IM5 is a low-slung liftback sedan at 4,931mm long, 1,960mm wide and just 1,474mm tall, sitting on a 2,950mm wheelbase. That length puts it between a Model 3 (4,720mm) and a Model S (4,970mm), while the width is closer to a BMW 5 Series. The IM6 SUV shares the same 2,950mm wheelbase and is fractionally shorter overall at 4,904mm and wider at 1,988mm, sitting 1,669mm tall for a proper mid-size SUV silhouette.

For anyone with tight suburban parking, the trump card is rear-wheel steering. It is standard on every grade in both bodies, with the rear wheels turning up to a claimed 12 degrees. That is what enables the crab-walk parking trick where the whole car shuffles sideways into a bay at low speed. It also drops the turning circle on a car this wide down to something that feels a size smaller.

Standard Equipment

Even the Premium comes loaded. Every IM5 and IM6 ships with a 20-speaker stereo, four-wheel steering, an automated parking system that will slot you into a bay hands-off, a full-glass panoramic roof, dual-zone climate, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, over-the-air software updates and Alibaba-derived voice control. Platinum adds a heated and ventilated Nappa driver's seat and larger wheels, and Performance layers on adaptive air suspension plus performance rubber. Nothing on the standard equipment list looks like a cost-out compared to a Model 3 Performance or a Polestar 4 in the same money.

Safety

The IM5 and IM6 are not yet rated by ANCAP. IM has submitted both to test and says they are engineered to a five-star target, but until ANCAP publishes a star result you should not assume it. What we do know is standard active safety kit covers AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise, lane-keep, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, driver monitoring, a 360-degree camera and multiple airbags including a centre bag between the front seats. If you are cross-shopping against a Model Y (five-star, 2022 protocol), the safety story only closes when ANCAP publishes.

How It Compares

The IM6 Premium at $60,990 driveaway lands between a Tesla Model Y RWD ($58,900 before on-roads, roughly $63,000 to $65,000 driveaway depending on state) and a Polestar 4 Long Range Single Motor ($81,500 driveaway). It undercuts an XPeng G6 Long Range ($59,800 driveaway) by very little on paper, but the IM adds a larger 75kWh pack, four-wheel steering and a bigger stereo the XPeng does not match. See our full EV comparison hub for how these mid-size electrics stack up on running cost per kilometre.

In the sedan lane, the IM5 Premium at $60,990 driveaway is dearer than a base BYD Seal Premium (~$52,000 driveaway) but cheaper than a Model 3 Long Range AWD at $71,900 before on-roads. IM5 Platinum at $69,990 driveaway with 655km WLTP is the range monster of the group and beats the Model 3 Long Range on paper by more than 40km.

Where the IM story really gets interesting is at the top. The Performance grade at $80,990 driveaway is the same money as a Model 3 Performance ($80,900 before on-roads) or a Model Y Performance ($82,900 before on-roads), and it delivers 572kW combined against Tesla's ~340kW. That is a 40 per cent power advantage for line-ball money, plus rear-wheel steering, air suspension on the SUV and a 20-speaker stereo Tesla does not offer.

Warranty and Servicing

IM backs both cars with a 7-year, unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty (84 months), matching MG's mainstream book and comfortably beating Tesla's 4-year, 80,000km cover. Battery cover runs 8 years or 160,000km with a 70 per cent capacity guarantee, which is now the class norm. Service intervals are 12 months or 20,000km, whichever comes first, with capped-price servicing published for the first seven years at the MG dealer counter. Cars are sold and serviced through the existing MG dealer network, not a standalone luxury network, which cuts overhead and is a big part of how IM has priced these cars where it has.

The CarSorted Angle

On CarSorted, the IM5 currently sits alongside seven other electric sedans and hatchbacks between $55,000 and $75,000 in our variant database. The comparable set the Premium is really fighting: BYD Seal Premium at about $52,000 driveaway with 570km WLTP, XPeng G6 Long Range at $59,800 driveaway with 570km, and Tesla Model 3 RWD at roughly $59,000 driveaway with 513km. IM5 Premium has more space and more standard kit than any of them but sits about $8,000 to $9,000 above the Seal on driveaway money. If range and 800V charging matter, jump straight to the Platinum, because the Premium's 400V/153kW peak is genuinely the weak spot in the range.

Cross-shop the SUVs on our compare tool. IM6 Premium at $60,990 driveaway with 450km WLTP looks middling on paper against a Model Y RWD at 466km / ~$63,000 driveaway, but jump to IM6 Platinum at $69,990 driveaway and you get 555km on 800V charging that Tesla simply cannot match, for effectively line-ball money once you add Model Y stamp duty. For a two-charger household doing 20,000km a year with the occasional long trip, the IM6 Platinum is the pick of the SUV range.

What This Means for Buyers

Three buyer segments. First, anyone cross-shopping a base Model Y RWD or a Model 3 RWD should think hard about stretching to an IM Platinum. Nine grand extra buys 100km more WLTP range, a real 800V charging platform and a 20-speaker stereo the Tesla does not touch. On a five-year hold that is a very defendable trade.

Second, anyone shopping a Polestar 4, BMW i4 or Audi Q4 e-tron now has a same-money alternative that outguns them on power and range. The badge premium those three carry is real for some buyers, but IM Performance at $80,990 driveaway with a 3.2-second 0 to 100 is aggressive.

Third, the group I would slow down: anyone who was already comfortable with a base Model 3 RWD or Model Y RWD. IM Premium at $60,990 driveaway is not a knockout against those two on price, and its 400V charging is the weakest link. The Tesla wins on charging network access and depreciation certainty. If you are not stretching to a Platinum, the Premium is a harder sell than IM would like to admit.

Ready to line them up? Start with the IM5 in our directory, then head to the CarSorted compare tool to stack it against a Model 3, Seal or Polestar 2. If you road-trip more than once a month, filter for cars that support DC charging above 200kW, that is where the IM Platinum grade really pulls ahead of the Premium and of most of the segment.