IM Motors LS8 Presales Hit 10,000 in 45 Minutes with NVIDIA Thor and AI Agent

IM Motors (智己汽车), SAIC Motor's premium EV brand, has announced that its LS8 SUV received 10,000 pre-orders within 45 minutes of opening reservations on March 26.

LS8 Key Specifications

• Steer-by-wire four-wheel steering: Industry-first for the segment
• NVIDIA Thor chip: Next-generation automotive compute platform
• 520-line LiDAR: Ultra-long-range perception system
• IM Ultra Agent 1.0: AI-powered intelligent assistant
• Stellar Range Extender: Hybrid powertrain for extended range
• Launch date: April 16, 2026

The NVIDIA Thor Factor

The inclusion of NVIDIA's Thor chip is significant:

• 2000 TOPS of AI compute for autonomous driving
• Enables full self-driving capability (potentially L3+)
• Positions IM as a technology leader in Chinese EV market

Chinese EV Presale Phenomenon

10,000 pre-orders in 45 minutes reflects the hyper-competitive Chinese EV market:

• Consumer enthusiasm: High demand for tech-forward vehicles
• Brand ambassador: Olympic champion Liu Xiang named brand ambassador
• Price war context: Aggressive pricing expected against competitors like NIO, XPeng, Li Auto

Broader Impact

IM Motors' strong presale performance, combined with NVIDIA Thor adoption, signals that the Chinese EV market continues to evolve rapidly — with AI compute power becoming a key differentiator alongside battery technology and design.