JAC Motors Rallied 9% on a Two-Page Report. The Real Test Is Still Coming.

On October 13, JAC Motors opened lower. After 9:45 a.m., the stock shot up in a straight line, touching an intraday high of RMB 24.20, up 8.84%. It closed with gains narrowed to 4.72% at RMB 23.09. Full-day turnover was RMB 6.44 billion, turnover rate 12.47%, amplitude 12.24%. Main funds recorded a net outflow of RMB 118 million. Large orders recorded a net outflow of RMB 123 million. Small orders recorded a net inflow of RMB 72.44 million. The trigger was Maextro’s “Statement on Brake Pedal Testing for Maextro V800,” released that day.

The statement was two pages. CAERI issued two reports, numbered 26-WT-DGJ-N10440 and 26-WT-DGJ-N10435. The conclusion: the Maextro V800 brake pedal meets industry standard QC/T 788-2018, longitudinal force 1500N, displacement ≤5mm. After stricter testing to 3000N, no cracks or damage appeared. A CAERI operator confirmed the report numbers were genuine but added that the specific contents are only disclosed to the company. Staff in the testing center’s archives told Yicai that the report is responsible only for the sample or sample vehicle submitted by the company. It offers no guarantee for subsequent mass-produced products.

The statement did not answer the questions left by Dongchedi’s October 8 test. In that test, three Maextro V800s underwent emergency braking from 100 km/h to 0. The pedal bracket broke during the second to fourth braking. The tester said the pedal disappeared from under his foot. The vehicle lost foot braking and could only be slowed by holding the P gear. Sensors showed the peak force at breakage was about 1600N. Three cars. Same location. Same result. Li Yanwei, an expert at the China Automobile Dealers Association, separated the two data sets. Static bench loading and continuous emergency braking in a real vehicle are two different mechanical conditions. 3000N without breakage and three real vehicles breaking can both be true. The public materials do not explain why they differ. Maextro’s official customer service gave a timeline: the brake pedal bracket base upgrade plan is expected to be confirmed by the end of October, with upgrades starting progressively from November. That timeline is the company’s own admission that the part needs work.

The test statement was ammunition for the bulls that day. The ammunition was limited. What drove JAC Motors to three consecutive limit-ups before National Day was another line: the luxury-car segment.

In September, multiple media outlets reported that Stellantis had finalized a three-way cooperation plan for Maserati with Huawei and JAC Motors. It plans to develop two pure electric models, a mid-to-large SUV and a large GT, to be produced at the Maextro super factory in Hefei. The first mass-produced car is targeted for the end of 2027. The cooperation may adopt a dual-brand approach: use Maextro in the Chinese market and retain the Maserati badge overseas. JAC Motors’ September 30 announcement confirmed that the three parties did have initial intentions to cooperate. The content and form of cooperation were not determined. No binding formal agreement had been signed. Subsequent progress carries considerable uncertainty. Stellantis’ vice president of communications for Asia Pacific responded that it does not comment on market rumors or speculation. Maserati’s future strategy will be announced at its December investor day.

Another line was the adjustment in cooperation between Seres and Huawei. On September 30, Huawei and Seres signed a new five-year agreement, upgrading to an AITO-exclusive dedicated dealership model. Seres Chairman Zhang Xinghai said on CCTV that the two sides had not split and had always been together. Some market participants read this adjustment as Huawei reallocating resources within the HarmonyOS Smart Mobility system. JAC Motors might receive more support. That interpretation has no official endorsement. Combined with the Maserati rumor, it formed the story investors bought in September.

Maextro’s own sales data provided support. In September, Maextro V800’s first full delivery month saw 2,080 insurance registrations. The Maextro brand overall saw 2,600 insurance registrations. In all of 2025, Toyota Alphard and Lexus LM combined sales in China were about 16,000 units, averaging about 1,370 per month. Maextro V800 exceeded 2,000 units in its first month, a better start than market expectations. In the pre-sale phase, V800 and V680 opened pre-sales for 23 days and accumulated more than 10,000 orders. V800 contributed about 80%. The RMB 1.016 million pilot edition accounted for 70% of orders. That order mix says more about the brand’s appeal in the ultra-luxury price segment than the insurance registrations do.

The financials: revenue up, losses wider. In the first half of 2026, JAC Motors’ operating revenue was RMB 22.13 billion, up 14.31% year on year. Net profit attributable to parent was a loss of RMB 749 million. Net profit excluding non-recurring items was a loss of RMB 991 million. Q2 narrowed the loss by about RMB 463 million quarter on quarter. The non-GAAP loss was still widening year on year. Net cash flow from operating activities was negative RMB 5.288 billion, compared with negative RMB 3.147 billion in the same period last year. Selling expenses increased year on year. Advertising and sales service fees for the Maextro brand were the main increment. Institutional forecasts for full-year 2026 net profit attributable to parent range from RMB 700 million to RMB 3.7 billion. That corresponds to PE from 65x to 17x. The divergence comes down to whether Maextro can keep winning orders in the million-yuan market and turn those orders into profit.

November is the first verification window. After the brake pedal bracket base upgrade plan lands, watch two numbers. First, whether the store cancellation trend is curbed. Second, whether V800 monthly insurance registrations can hold 2,000 units. Both are more direct than any test report. If insurance registrations fall below 2,000 units, the luxury-car case needs new numbers. If registrations stay above 2,000 after the upgrade, market confidence in Maextro will recover somewhat. The second window is December, Stellantis’ investor day. Maserati’s future strategy will be announced. Whether the three-way cooperation has a binding agreement will be answered then. The third window is the end of 2027, when the first cooperative model is mass-produced and L3 autonomous driving regulations advance. Those determine JAC Motors’ long-term valuation center.

The October 13 gain narrowed to 4.72% at the close. Main funds recorded a net outflow of RMB 118 million. Small orders recorded a net inflow of RMB 72.44 million. The rally was driven by short-term funds and retail investors. Institutions did not enter on a large scale. The test statement gave the market a reason to rebound. It did not solve the engineering problem of pedal breakage. It did not turn cooperation intentions into a contract. It did not turn the non-GAAP loss into profit. Watch the stock price around RMB 23. Watch insurance registrations around 2,000. Watch the November upgrade. Those three numbers will tell you more than the two-page statement did.