Yangwang, BYD’s luxury vehicle marque, has publicized the brake-pedal assemblies used in its U7 sedan and U8 and U8L SUVs following reports that pedal supports broke during emergency-braking tests of the Maextro V800 minivan in China. Three V800 vehicles took part in the tests. Maextro is developed with Huawei and manufactured by JAC.
In a video posted to Weibo, Yangwang executive Zheng Yu showed the assemblies and said their pedal arms and mounting bases are made from stamped steel. The V800’s pedal support, by comparison, uses glass-fiber-reinforced polypropylene. Zheng cited 2,500 newtons as Yangwang’s reference force during development. China’s stated requirement is for a brake pedal to withstand 2,000 newtons for five seconds without breaking.
Yangwang also highlighted its e4 platform, which uses four electric motors to control torque at each wheel independently. The company says the setup can provide emergency regenerative braking if the conventional braking system fails, but it is not clear whether it can identify a broken brake pedal specifically. The pedal display alone does not establish better performance in every operating condition.
The V800’s top version is priced at 1.016 million yuan. After the test reports, Maextro said it would offer existing owners redesigned pedal supports at no cost. Yangwang also sells vehicles above 1 million yuan, placing the two marques in overlapping luxury territory.