A brake pedal assembly broke during testing of a luxury vehicle priced around RMB 1 million (USD 149,000). Then it happened in two more vehicles.
A video released by automotive information platform Dongchedi on October 8 showed the failures as three Maextro V800s repeatedly braked from 100 kilometers per hour to a standstill. In each vehicle, the break occurred at the same point: the plastic reinforcement around the pedal pivot. The video showed that the force applied to the pedal exceeded 1,600 newtons when it broke.
The footage prompted widespread debate, weighed on JAC Motors’ share price, and drew regulatory attention.
On October 10, the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) sent an urgent questionnaire to major automakers about the materials used in brake pedal assemblies, with a focus on nonmetallic components. Industry participants generally regard such surveys as groundwork for possible regulatory revisions.
Maextro said its braking system had been developed and validated against requirements exceeding national standards, and that no failures of the pedal bracket base had occurred in customer use. It nevertheless said it would improve the component’s design to provide a greater safety margin.
According to the standards reviewed by 36Kr, the mandatory national requirement sets a maximum pedal force of 500 newtons for achieving a vehicle’s maximum braking performance. A separate recommended standard calls for applying a force of 1,500 newtons, with a tolerance of plus or minus 20 newtons, for five seconds, repeated five times. The assembly must show no cracks and no more than five millimeters of permanent deformation.
The report argues that an automaker’s internal standards therefore determine how much force its pedals must withstand without breaking.
Sources told 36Kr that domestic suppliers quote no more than RMB 100 (USD 14.9) for a brake pedal assembly, even for a vehicle priced around RMB 1 million. Low prices and limited technological innovation leave pedal R&D low on the list of priorities, with few automakers assigning engineers specifically to the component.
Yet some established luxury brands continue to manufacture brake pedal assemblies in their own European factories and import them for assembly in China, despite years of localizing other operations.
The debate reflects what buyers expect from a vehicle at this price: safety should extend to every component.
Safety has long been a selling point for luxury cars. Mercedes-Benz introduced the antilock braking system (ABS), developed with Bosch, in the S-class in 1978. Luxury cars today still tend to offer more extensive and finely calibrated safety equipment than mainstream vehicles.
Within Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA), Maextro models have more airbags, more sensors such as lidar, and a greater amount of ultra-high-strength steel than other models in the lineup. Features including active seat protection before a collision and rear impact prediction have also debuted in models from Maextro, the alliance’s most expensive brand.
For buyers, a price of around RMB 1 million brings an expectation that safety will extend to the smallest components.
Higher standards require engineering and funding
A brake pedal can cost just RMB 100 in a vehicle selling for roughly RMB 1 million. As automakers compete on assisted driving, suspension, chips, and batteries, that inexpensive component can easily be overlooked.
Established luxury brands offer a point of comparison. Many have internal safety requirements stricter than Chinese, European, and US standards.
According to 36Kr, these brands commonly require pedals to withstand close to 4,000 newtons without breaking, roughly equivalent to the weight of five or six adults standing on the pedal.
They also test pedals at temperatures from -35 to 80 degrees Celsius. Under a force of 2,000 newtons, the pedal may show only slight deformation that does not affect performance, whether in extreme heat or cold. By comparison, China’s automotive regulatory framework includes only one recommended standard specifying an ambient temperature test, covering eight to 38 degrees Celsius.
These luxury brands test more than the front-on pressure required by regulations. They also apply force from the left and right to approximate the angles at which drivers might hit the brake in an emergency.
Higher requirements also demand the engineering expertise to meet them.
A person familiar with the industry told 36Kr that these brands still use fully imported brake pedal components. “In high-end cars costing more than RMB 400,000 (USD 59,600), the brake pedals are almost all designed by the automakers themselves and manufactured in factories they built. They are made in European factories, then shipped to China by sea for assembly.”
These brands are gradually giving Chinese R&D teams more responsibility for new vehicles, including locally produced models costing around RMB 1 million. “But brake pedal designs still need headquarters’ approval,” the person said, adding that the brands do not trust Chinese suppliers’ development capabilities.
To reduce weight, manufacturers have replaced much of the material in brake pedal assemblies with engineering plastics, although the pedals and pedal arms generally remain metal, according to 36Kr. Sports car brands such as Porsche have even switched the pedal arms on some models to engineering plastics.
“Engineering plastics are cheap and light, but that puts pressure on the R&D team,” an engineer who designs pedal assemblies told 36Kr.
Pedals and pedal arms differ in shape and angle between models. To meet the automaker’s requirements, engineers must accurately analyze how forces act on the structure and place reinforcing ribs where loads are concentrated.
The engineer said domestic suppliers needed better simulation capabilities, leaving development teams to rely on trial and error.
“There is quite a large difference between the simulation results and the bench-test results. The R&D team can only try things: will adding a reinforcing rib here get it through? But even if it passes, it has only passed under the conditions you tested. Users will not brake exactly as you did in your tests. Without understanding the underlying principles, it is hard to ensure your pedal is safe enough.”
The person familiar with the industry said established luxury brands place considerable importance on suppliers’ technical know-how.
“They will not allow a component in one of their RMB 1 million cars if nobody understands why it was designed that way. So, in the end, these automakers still choose to do it themselves.”
Pedal assemblies are among the cheapest components in a braking system and have relatively low technical barriers to entry. That discourages automakers and suppliers from investing in a component selling for only tens of RMB. Mechanical safety, however, still requires repeated testing.
“That is also the difference between traditional luxury brands and today’s new luxury challengers. Every safety requirement needs development funding behind it,” a supply chain source told 36Kr.
Vehicles priced around RMB 1 million sell in small volumes. Annual sales of 10,000 are already substantial. “The unit price of a pedal is low, and everyone in the industry is controlling costs. Even for a RMB 1 million luxury car, domestic suppliers will not quote more than RMB 100 for a pedal assembly.”
At those volumes and prices, annual orders for a model’s brake pedal assemblies could be worth no more than RMB 1 million. Developing the assembly, however, costs at least several million RMB, according to the report.
“Volumes of RMB 1 million luxury cars are too low. It is difficult to spread R&D costs over production volume,” the source said. Automakers would normally be expected to pay suppliers a development fee.
“When you work on a project for a European luxury brand, it will pay development fees even if the design is rejected and you are not selected in the end. But many domestic automakers may pay only 20% of the development costs, even for a RMB 1 million car, and even after the supplier has been selected for mass production.”
Low volumes, thin margins, and limited development fees raise a difficult question: how much safety engineering can a project fund? The result depends on R&D capability, development time, and the budget, as much as on written standards.
Chinese brands are moving into the high end of the market, launching vehicles priced around RMB 1 million. Some already outsell established luxury models on a monthly basis and lead their segments.
Their launches emphasize safety too, from three redundant power supplies for concealed door handles to lidar sensors and airbag counts. But established luxury brands’ longevity rests on more than safety at the vehicle-system level. It also reflects strict requirements and sustained spending on inconspicuous components, from brake pedals to small wiring harnesses.
Could a pedal failure be caught before production?
The failures raise a straightforward question: could a design or quality defect that causes a brake pedal to break be caught before mass production?
“Almost no automaker has R&D or quality control positions dedicated to brake pedals,” a development engineer told 36Kr. Braking engineers typically oversee calipers, brake discs and pads, and pedal assemblies together.
Usually, the automaker specifies development targets and the pedal supplier designs the structure. Those targets include regulatory load requirements, cost, and weight.
Suppliers generally validate component designs themselves, according to 36Kr. After designing an assembly, a supplier first uses its own simulation system to assess whether the structure can withstand forces of 2,000 newtons or more. Once the design passes simulation and receives the automaker’s approval, the supplier produces physical prototypes for bench testing.
For maximum-load testing, the engineer said, automakers commonly accept a supplier’s report showing that the component passed.
“Some automakers run verification tests when they first bring in a new supplier. But costs and development schedules are now so tight that almost no automaker voluntarily retests. If the supplier’s report says it passes, then it passes.”
The automaker’s braking engineers then focus on pedal travel and feel, and on achieving maximum braking force with less than 500 newtons of force on the pedal. They do not conduct a separate test applying extreme force to the pedal.
Before a new model goes on sale, components and complete vehicles also undergo relevant tests at nationally accredited third-party institutions, a regulatory certification engineer told 36Kr.
“Maximum pedal load falls under component-level certification. In most cases, suppliers submit the parts for testing themselves and then give the automaker a passing report. Automakers generally check the report, not the actual testing process.”
The automaker is responsible for the vehicle and the supplier for the component. “If the development engineer does not have enough experience to spot something wrong, then it essentially comes down to each party acting in good conscience,” the certification engineer said.
Manufacturing defects can also cause a pedal assembly to break.
The automotive supply chain has multiple tiers, and each usually provides another quality check. An industry source gave 36Kr an example from the braking system downstream of the pedal.
“Suppliers’ production lines have mistake proofing built in. If a brake pad supplier quietly makes the pads two millimeters thinner, the caliper supplier will find that the pads do not fit in the specified position. Further up, the tier-one supplier checks overall performance again.”
If a component fails, the entire chain can be held accountable. Pedal assemblies are different: once they leave the supplier’s factory, they go directly to the automaker’s vehicle plant for installation. No intermediate supplier provides an additional quality check.
The premium buyers pay for luxury vehicles carries an expectation of safety margins beyond what regulations require. Delivering those margins takes money, engineering time, and checks that remain effective under cost pressure. The Maextro failures show why even a low-cost component warrants that attention.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Xu Caiyu for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.71 = USD 1 based on estimates as of October 13, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are approximate and, where appropriate, rounded for ease of reference. They may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.