Maextro S800 Grand Design. Credit: Maextro
- The Maextro S800 Grand Design starts at 1.388 million yuan ($204,400), taking aim at Mercedes-Benz Maybach.
- The S800 Grand Design features a four-seat layout and is expected to begin deliveries in late August.
Huawei-backed luxury car brand Maextro officially launched the S800 Grand Design on Thursday, stepping up its push into the ultra-luxury market.
The ultra-luxury sedan carries an official guide price starting at 1.388 million yuan ($204,400) and is expected to begin deliveries in late August.
Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei’s consumer business group, launched the model at today’s event. The car is targeting the ultra-luxury sedan segment and adopts a four-seat layout.
The S800 Grand Design is a high-end derivative built on the standard S800, offered with a choice of extended-range and all-electric powertrains.
The sedan measures 5,480 mm long, 2,000 mm wide and 1,536 mm tall, with a 3,370 mm wheelbase, keeping the same dimensions as the regular version.
Maextro is a brand jointly built by Huawei and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp (JAC), and sits under Huawei’s HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) business unit.
The S800 Grand Design plays up Chinese aesthetics. The new car comes in three new exterior colors, with gold accents applied to the badging and side identifiers.
Inside, the car features 18 wood trim panels crafted with marquetry techniques. It carries a first-of-its-kind real-wood HOD touch-sensing steering wheel that supports driving assistance, along with a crystal knob with 116 crystal facets.
Buyers can also opt for a special Chinese-aesthetic themed package, priced at 200,000 yuan, with existing customers eligible for a 60,000 yuan discount. The package includes a hand-embroidered starlight headliner with 510,000 stitches and mulberry silk cushions, among other accessories.
Intelligence is one of Huawei’s core selling points. The new car is claimed to be designed for an L3+ advanced autonomous driving architecture, equipped with Huawei’s Qiankun ADS 5 system.
The perception system is built around a six-LiDAR array, and debuts a more advanced computing redundancy architecture for autonomous driving, with full-chain redundancy featuring dual SoCs and dual power supplies.
The dual-motor version delivers a combined maximum output of 390 kW, while the tri-motor version reaches 635 kW. The new car carries the latest generation of Huawei’s Giant Whale battery platform.
The all-electric version comes with a 120-kWh battery pack, offering a CLTC all-electric range of 780 km. The extended-range version is fitted with a 65-kWh battery pack, with a combined range of 1,200 km.
The car targets high-end business users willing to pay for Chinese luxury design, going up against traditional imported ultra-luxury models, especially Mercedes-Benz Maybach.
China’s luxury sedan market has long been dominated by German automakers. In recent years, a growing number of local brands have been trying to break that mold.
The standard S800 has achieved notable commercial success since its launch in May 2025. Yu said at today’s event that cumulative deliveries of the model have surpassed 19,000 units.
Beyond the Grand Design, Maextro is also actively expanding its premium lineup, debuting two MPVs (multi-purpose vehicles), the V800 and the V680, at today’s event.
The Maextro V800 had earlier completed its regulatory filing, paving the way for its launch.
The standard version of the new Aito M9 starts at 479,800 yuan ($70,760), while the special extended Ultimate edition starts at 649,800 yuan.
($1 = 6.7905 yuan)
