Huawei's Maybach rival takes China luxury crown

Huawei Technologies Co's ultra-luxury Maextro S800 sedan is so popular in China nowadays, it's outselling Porsche AG's Panamera, Mercedes-Benz Group AG's S-Class and all other vehicles with sticker prices of at least $100,000.

It's not even close. Since its May launch, sales of the Maextro overtook those of all others in that price bracket in September and haven't looked back. Last month, they rolled out of dealerships at numbers greater than those of the Panamera - one of the longtime top sellers - and the BMW 7 Series combined, according to data compiled by ECC Intelligence.

Billed as a ride rivaling a Rolls-Royce or Bentley - but at a fraction of the price - Huawei conquered one of the last corners of the Chinese car market that foreign brands had clung on to as a stronghold, illustrating how global automakers continue sliding further behind local companies.