After a decade of attempting to make the Maybach brand profitable, Daimler AG has announced that production has ended, that stock 57s and 62s will be sold at substantial discount and that Maybach will cease to exist by next year.
Said chairman Dieter Zetsche to the German newspaper Allgemeine Zeitung: “It would not make sense to develop a successor model. The upcoming S-Class is in such a way a superior vehicle that it can replace the Maybach.”
Maybach’s epitaph will not make for great reading. In 1997, BMW Daimler decided to base the 57 and 62 on the S-Class of two generations back, add some glitzy accouterments, entirely dismiss the beguiling history of the name and charge triple the price of a Mercedes-Benz S600L. It launched the car in the US, the projected largest market, in 2002 with great fanfare by shipping the first car to New York on the deck of a ship and then airlifting it to a spot close to Wall Street. There was enthusiasm aplenty and talk of selling 1 000 cars a year.
However, the super-wealthy stayed away in droves or flocked to Rolls-Royce and Bentley showrooms, surely insulted by Daimler’s brazen attempt at relieving them of their dosh. In 2010, a paltry 157 Maybachs were sold compared with almost 3 000 Rolls models. Not even launching the vehicle in the lucrative Chinese market helped; the nouveau riche wanted established, revered brands such as Rolls and Bentley to convey their wealth, not tarted-up S-Classes.
The local projections were equally optimistic. At the official launch in 2003, Daimler-Chrysler’s divisional manager told CAR that the company estimated it would sell 10 units a year. “I don’t think it will take a long time before South Africa is also regarded as one of the preferred markets for Maybach,” he said. At the time, R4 million for the flagship 62 included a 24-hour-a-day customer-service function with a personal liaison, whose responsibilities included managing the delivery of customers’ Maybach – as per their choice – either in South Africa, or at the specialised Maybach Centre of Excellence in Stuttgart, Germany.
With Maybach put to rest, Mercedes-Benz has renewed its focus on its flagship saloon, the S-Class. Reportedly, six different versions of this vehicle will be offered, including a stretched model (the Pullman), a coupe to replace the CL and a four-seater cabriolet.
For a more subtle take on super-luxury motoring, read our road test of the Rolls-Royce Ghost in the July 2012 issue of CAR magazine.
