Beijing enlists multiple regulators to probe EV safety issue that raised quality alarms

Beijing has enlisted the support of its top internet watchdog to deepen the investigation into a car safety issue that put Chinese-made intelligent vehicles under the spotlight.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Thursday that a joint investigation team including officials from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) would verify facts regarding reports about brake pedal failures in tests of an electric vehicle (EV) made by the Huawei Technologies-backed Maextro luxury brand.

The three ministry-level authorities “have paid close attention to the issue”, the MIIT said. “Relevant information will be released in a timely manner.”

The statement showed that Chinese authorities would be resolute in addressing concerns about Chinese EV quality and reliability amid a falling domestic market, analysts said.

On October 8, ByteDance-owned car-information platform Dongchedi released a video showing that brake-pedal brackets snapped on all three Maextro V800 multipurpose vehicles used in a test of emergency braking from 100km/h.

The video went viral, while Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily said in a commentary on Sunday that the incident underscored the importance of strengthened oversight over the country’s “rapidly developed” EVs.

“The internet regulator will be responsible for sifting out misinformation [about the matter] online that could taint the reputation of Chinese carmakers,” said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai. “Consumers will be eager to see the truth amid regulators’ heightened investigation efforts.”

Maextro, jointly developed by Huawei and JAC and based in eastern China’s Anhui province, said in a statement on Thursday that it would fully cooperate with the investigation team to safeguard the interests of consumers and support the development of China’s EV industry.

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On Sunday, the brand said that it would address the brake pedal issue by the end of this month. JAC assembles Maextro vehicles. Tech giant Huawei, through its Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, supplies technology for smart driving and digital cockpits to the EVs.

The Maextro V800 is one of the most expensive EV models in mainland China, with a base price of 766,000 yuan (US$113,582).

On Saturday, the MIIT, along with three other ministry-level departments, published draft rules stipulating that sufficient vetting measures including 30,000km (18,641 miles) of road testing should be completed before any new model was offered to consumers.

Car sales in China slumped 21.7 per cent year on year to 13.3 million units in the first nine months of 2026 due to narrowing government support such as smaller EV purchase subsidies and a resumption of consumption tax.

In August, MIIT vice-minister Xin Guobin said at a press briefing in Beijing that new auto products and technologies would be barred from entering the market unless they passed stricter approval procedures.

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Beijing is also carrying out a nationwide inspection campaign assessing the quality of Chinese-made cars.