There is a huge variety of Chinese electric cars these days, including tiny city cars, sedans, hatches, and crossovers, as well as some truly fancy high-end luxury models. One of them is the Maextro S800, a range extender or pure electric luxury sedan aimed squarely at the Maybach version of the current Mercedes S-Class. That's a big target; can this newcomer really pull it off?

The Maextro S800 is the product of a Huawei and JAC collaboration, and it's the first car to bear the Maextro name. The car was released in China last week.

Huawei intends to release more cars, mirroring what another smartphone giant, Xiaomi, is doing. In the promotional videos, Huawei suggests that the S800 is a superior offering to the top-of-the-range version of the S-Class, and it has some pretty unique features to back that up.

Just like an S-Class, the S800 features rear-wheel steering, which makes this 216-inch (5.48-meter) sedan feel smaller and more maneuverable in tight spaces. However, the S-Class can't crab walk at up to 16 degrees like the S800—this is an unheard-of feature in a luxury sedan, usually only reserved for more off-road-oriented vehicles to make them even more capable over rough terrain or help them avoid obstacles.

Another Chinese EV, the Denza D9 GT, also offers this feature, touting it as the solution for fitting the car into tight parking spaces.

The car is capable of Level 3 (drivers can take their hands off the wheel under certain conditions) semi-autonomous driving thanks to an array of 32 sensors, which includes Lidar. Its headlights also adjust in real-time not just to not dazzle oncoming cars but also to highlight pedestrians or other road users. Occupants breathe clean air that's passed through two sets of filters before it reaches the cabin, although it doesn't have an ionization function like in some other high-end cars.

The pure electric version of the S800 has a standard three-motor configuration, which has a total system output of 852 horsepower. The S800 EREV has a dual-motor all-wheel drive configuration with 523 hp, but buyers will be able to upgrade to the same tri-motor setup as the BEV variant.