Chinese Luxury Sedan Gets Gold Treatment, Challenges Rolls-Royce at Half the Price

Maextro, a luxury automotive joint venture between Huawei and JAC, is set to launch an exclusive special edition of its flagship S800 sedan. The new Maextro S800 Grand Design boasts bespoke styling, including prominent gold accents, and enhanced technology, positioning it as a high-end alternative to established luxury brands like Rolls-Royce, all at a significantly lower price point.

Key Takeaways

🚘

What defines the Maextro S800 Grand Design

The special edition combines ultra-luxury styling, Huawei tech, multiple electrified powertrains, and a price that undercuts traditional flagship rivals.

Luxury styling

Extensive gold detailing appears across the exterior and is expected to continue inside the cabin.

New driver-assistance hardware

Huawei's Qiankun ADS 5.0 adds upgraded LiDAR and camera equipment for stronger autonomous capability.

Electrified performance

Buyers can choose between a BEV setup and a more complex EREV system with three electric motors.

Value positioning

At about $294,000, it lands far below the approximate cost of a Rolls-Royce Ghost.

A Touch of Gold and Grandeur

The Maextro S800 Grand Design leans heavily into visual theater, pairing a deep blue-green and silver two-tone exterior with lavish gold accents. Its dimensions and rear-focused cabin layout reinforce that this is meant to be experienced as a chauffeur-grade luxury sedan rather than simply a large EV.

Exterior and cabin highlights

Category	Detail	Why it matters
Paint finish	Deep blue-green and light silver bi-tone scheme	Creates a more formal, coachbuilt look
Gold accents	Applied to the hood ornament, disc wheels, stripes, and badging	Signals the car's ultra-luxury positioning
Body size	5,480 mm long with a 3,370 mm wheelbase	Supports flagship proportions and rear-seat presence
Cabin layout	Four-seat configuration	Puts comfort and exclusivity ahead of maximum capacity
Rear amenities	Zero-gravity seats, retractable laser projection screen, 43-speaker Huawei audio	Targets limousine-style passenger comfort

Advanced Technology Integration

Beyond the decorative upgrades, the Grand Design package is also a technology update. New sensing hardware expands the car's perception stack and supports the move from Huawei's ADS 4.1 system to the newer ADS 5.0 suite.

How the upgraded driver-assistance package comes together

1

Add new sensing hardware

A roof-mounted 896-line LiDAR unit and a new B-pillar camera expand the vehicle's ability to scan its surroundings.

2

Feed Huawei's latest software stack

The added hardware supports Qiankun ADS 5.0, replacing the ADS 4.1 setup used in current models.

3

Improve autonomous capability

The result is a higher-end driver-assistance package intended to deliver stronger automated driving performance.

Powertrain Options and Pricing

The S800 Grand Design pairs flagship luxury with two distinct electrified drivetrains, then uses aggressive pricing to frame itself against both its own standard model and traditional ultra-luxury competitors.

Powertrain and price comparison

Model or variant	Configuration	Price / output
S800 Grand Design BEV	Dual-motor AWD with 97 kWh battery	523 hp; part of an expected ¥2 million price point
S800 Grand Design EREV	Turbocharged 1.5-liter engine plus three electric motors and 63 kWh battery	Electrified range-extender alternative within the flagship line
Standard S800	Existing flagship sedan range	Starts at ¥708,000 (about $104,000)
Rolls-Royce Ghost	Traditional ultra-luxury benchmark	About ¥5,030,000 ($738,600)

8 months

The standard Maextro S800 has been China's best-selling vehicle priced above ¥700,000 for eight straight months, with more than 17,000 deliveries.

Expected in Chinese dealerships in June, the Grand Design arrives with a far higher sticker than the standard S800 but still well below the Rolls-Royce Ghost. That gap, combined with the strong sales momentum already established by the base model, helps explain why Huawei and JAC appear confident about pushing further into the ultra-premium market.