The Maybach story will soon come to an end, as Mercedes-Benz executives took the decision of putting the exclusive luxury brand to sleep once and for all after talks with Aston Martin on a possible collaboration failed last Autumn. The sales have painfully decreased every year since 2002, when the 57 and 62 models were introduced, and numbers for Q1 of 2012 don't look great either.In a last effort to minimize the inevitable losses, the company is now offering a radical discount of around $100,000 (approx. €76500) for each client who picks a Maybach as new personal car. Thus, the overall price drops to a massive $279,050 (€212,660), which is less than one would pay for a Bentley Mulsanne or Rolls-Royce Phantom. The only difference is that those cars sell like hot cakes, whereas Maybach doesn't, sadly. To conclude, it will be quite impossible to convince customers in choosing a 57, 62, Landaulet or S version over the strong competition or the S 600 V12 model from Mercedes-Benz, which costs almost €91,000 less. Refinement and classiness are not sufficient values: above all, Maybach remains an old-fashioned limousine, with outdated technology and a rather ridiculous purchasing price.Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
After talks between Daimler and Aston Martin abruptly collapsed during fall of 2011, the chances for Maybach to survive against all odds rapidly diminished. Even though there were some speculations the Germans would reconstruct the exclusive luxury brand from zero, the inevitable happened: Mercedes-Benz officials took the decision of axing Maybach beginning with 2013, partly motivating that costs to build a new generation of uber-premium models would be too expensive to afford all the subsequent risks.
To compensate the demise of Maybach starting with 2013, Mercedes-Benz is allegedly working on a comprehensive lineup of new versions based on the future S-Class (W 222). Speaking about money, journalists from CAR Magazine have calculated the total amount of loss the Stuttgart-based carmaker had to endure since Maybach was revived back in 2002.
In the past years, Mercedes-Benz poored a total of €1 billion into the brand, adding to the fact they never actually managed to sell more than 3,000 units during this entire period. More precisely, this meant that, with each Maybach sold, the company lost no less than €330,000, which obviously never came back at least as a slight profit. It is hardly a surprise, but knowing the original picture, it could have been a lot worse than that. No wonder Maybach can be easily seen as a financial blackhole, as it sucked a great amount of cash and struggled so much during its entire existence due to a bad planning, execrable management and poor investment in renewing the lineup and the technologycal package of the car models produced under the "MM" badge. Even though the dices are already thrown, unlucky Maybach will likely stay as it is: a beautiful, refined luxury automaker for select customers. At least in our memory.
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
An official is yet to be issued by Daimler AG, but we already learnt about the outcome of Maybach, which is set to be put to sleep forever beginning with early 2013. High development costs for a second generation doubled by the incertitude generated by the lack of sales of the current luxury limousines have contributed to this tough decision. In order to fill the gap left by the disappearance of Maybach, Mercedes-Benz plans to launch in 2014 a more upscale version of the future S-Class W 222: the S 600 Pullman, destined to fight with Bentley and Rolls-Royce.
Although premature, some details were dropped on the internet. The extended wheelbase limousine will boast almost 6.5 meters in length and a unique, distinctive design to set it apart from the usual S-Class and hark back to the Grand Mercedes 600 of the 1960s. Passengers will travel in complete style and comfort in the exclusively pampered, top quality interior. Moreover, alongside the Pullman and other new variants, the new luxury range of Mercedes-Benz will reportedly receive a special 4-door coupe based on the S-Class towards 2015, even though this information is still to be confirmed by company executives.
Photo: Autobild
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
After months of insecurity and a highly tormented story, a final decision regarding the outcome of Maybach has been recently taken. Sadly, according to a well informed insider, Mercedes-Benz will discontinue the luxury brand beginning with early 2013. Although everyone hoped Maybach would be saved in the end, chances were radically diminished after the deal with Aston Martin stuck. The role of the 57 and 62 versions will be taken by the new generation S-Class, specifically by the future V12-powered S 600 Pullman variant.
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
