In an outcome that would be almost unfathomable just a few years ago, a luxury carmaker that’s barely been on sale for 12 months has outsold traditional rivals from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi.

The latest sales results published in China reveal that Maextro – a brand you may not have even heard of – has established a massive sales lead over European rivals. 

The Maextra S800 is one of many cars built via a partnership with tech giant Huawei and an existing carmaker, in this case, JAC – best known in Australia for cut-price dual-cab utes. Maextro first launched in July 2025.

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In April, the Maextro S800 recorded 1142 sales in China, putting it well ahead of the second-placed Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, with 736 sales. The Porsche Panamera rounds out the top three, with 616 sales.

But, there’s a catch. Unlike Australia, where Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Maybach versions of the S-Class are counted as a single model, China counts the two cars separately. With the 521 regular Mercedes-Benz S-Class sales added, Mercedes-Benz topped the charts with 1257 S-Class sales.

Year-to-date sales tell a similar story. The Maextro S800 has recorded 5465 sales to the end of April, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class has 3012 sales to its name, and BMW holds third place with 2976 sales.

Perhaps most surprising is that the much more expensive Maybach version of the S-Class outsells the regular Benz version. With sales of the two combined, Mercedes again comes out on top with 5608 sales, though Maextro is narrowing the gap.

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The Maextro S800 measures 5480mm long, making it 10mm longer than the latest Mercedes-Maybach S-Class. It is available with a choice of EV or PHEV drivetrains.

The S800 EV features a dual-motor drivetrain with 390kW combined, and claimed range of up to 670km based on Chinese testing. Acceleration from 0-100km/h takes a claimed 4.3 seconds.

The flagship PHEV version of the S800 produces 635kW from a tri-motor powertrain, backed by a 1.5-litre engine, but acceleration is slightly slower at 4.7 seconds to 100km/h. EV only range is rated at 365km, or 1200km combined.