A video shared by IM Motors shows the IM L6 completing a driverless moose test at 71 km/h with no one in the car.

(Image credit: IM Motors)

IM Motors, the electric vehicle (EV) arm of SAIC Motor Corp, has demonstrated the autonomous driving capabilities of the IM L6 as it continues to warm up for the upcoming new model.

The EV maker today shared a video on Weibo showing the IM L6 completing a driverless moose test at 71 kilometers per hour with no one in the car.

The moose test is an important measure of vehicle safety that examines a vehicle's ability to avoid obstacles in an emergency.

 

Automotive reviewers usually present moose test results after a new car model is released, but completing the test unmanned by an EV maker is a first.

Late last month, Geely Auto had also demonstrated its vehicle's extreme maneuvering in an unmanned state in a video.

In a March 27 video, a Geely test vehicle performed fully unmanned autonomous driving as well as autonomous drifting on an icy road.

The driverless drifting technology is a key component of Geely's AI digital chassis technology, with which basic capabilities, including crab walk and tank turns, can be easily realized, Geely said at the time.

Similar to Geely, IM Motors is marketing its digital chassis technology.

"Is that the limit when 'chassis' becomes 'digital chassis'? Imagination could be bigger," IM Motors co-CEO Liu Tao said in a Weibo retweet of the video.

On March 18, IM Motors said it would debut the VMC (Vehicle Motion Control) intelligent digital chassis on the IM L6, which would allow the electric sedan to support features including crab walk.

The IM L6 will make its debut in China on April 8, and IM Motors previously said the model will also feature solid-state batteries and a range of more than 1,000 kilometers.

IM Motors was founded on November 26, 2020, by SAIC, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech and Alibaba, with SAIC holding a majority stake.

In June 2022 IM Motors began deliveries of its first model, the IM L7, a mid-to-large-size pure electric sedan that is a Nio ET7 rival.

IM Motors' other two models, IM LS6 and IM LS7, are SUVs.

Geely shows off 'world's first' driverless drifting tech