Maextro aims to be new maestro

Huawei gave a glimpse on Thursday into the new technologies of the Maextro S800 flagship sedan, priced over 1 million yuan, showcasing its potential and ambition to set a new benchmark in the luxury sedan segment.

Maextro is a marque codeveloped by Huawei and JAC, as a member of the Chinese technology giant's Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, which also has brands AITO, Stelato and Luxeed.

Among other features, the Maextro S800, available in both electric and range-extending versions, boasts outstanding pre-safety systems not commonly found in other models, including the Mercedes S-Class.

Yu Chengdong, head of Huawei's smart car solution unit, explained that this is primarily due to its active smart vehicle architecture, which integrates perception and anticipation with multi-dimensional coordination and control.

Yu added that this system enables the vehicle to anticipate and respond to road conditions 200 to 50 milliseconds in advance, providing greater stability on slippery surfaces.

Footage shows the vehicle running smoothly even after suddenly experiencing a flat tire at 120 km/h on a wet road.

Also, despite being a large sedan, the Maextro S800 has the agility of a smaller car.

The model supports rear-wheel steering, which reduces the turning radius to 5.05 meters, smaller than that of a BMW MINI, which has a 2.52-meter wheelbase.

Analysts at Huachuang Securities said that Maextro, thanks to its cutting-edge technologies, is poised to compete with models from premium marques like Mercedes and BMW.

These international brands are already seeing their market share shrink over the past years because of the rise of local Chinese startups like Li Auto and Nio.

However, some experts caution that it will take time to assess how the model fares in this segment, as the S800 represents the Huawei alliance's first venture into vehicles priced over 1 million yuan.

Of the four marques in the alliance, AITO, which has been specializing in SUVs, is the most successful one. Its AITO M9 has been the best-selling model priced above 500,000 yuan in China for several consecutive months.

Statistics show that the four brands in the alliance combined sold 445,000 vehicles last year. A monthly record set was in December, with almost 50,000 delivered.