Mercedes is getting ready to make major upgrades to its Maybach line, with bigger, more exotic packages than today’s offerings meant to directly challenge super-premium brands like Bentley and Rolls-Royce, according to a new report. The question is whether Maybach can succeed this time after a first failed attempt. More from Headlight.News.
The 2010 Maybach 62 Zeppelin.
If you’re looking for something more lavish than the run-of-the-mill Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan or GLS SUV you might want to upgrade to the Maybach package. For your money you’ll get a bit more power, fancier interior and a unique grille and badging.
But the German automaker has bigger aspirations for the Maybach nameplate and, according to a new report by Motor Trend, is “evaluating” whether to launch a series of unique products aimed at challenging the likes of some of the automotive world’s most exclusive brands, namely Rolls-Royce and Bentley.
But whether it moves ahead with the costly project is uncertain. Clearly, Mercedes doesn’t want to repeat the mistakes it made nearly a quarter-century ago when it lost more than $1 billion on its first attempt to create a standalone Maybach brand.
A failed experiment
Today, the Maybach badge adorns super-elite versions of some Mercedes models, like this SL 680.
The Maybach name honors Wilhelm Maybach who was a cofounder of what today is Mercedes-Benz. He launched his own luxury car company in 1909 which produced some of the industry’s most exclusive products. It folded in 1960 but Mercedes decided to relaunch it as the new millennium approached and the long-time partnership between Bentley and Rolls was broken up.
Rolls was taken over by BMW, Bentley by Volkswagen AG, and Mercedes saw an opportunity to challenge both. Maybach came back to life in 2002 with two models, the massive Maybach 62 – measuring a full 243 inches in length – and the slightly smaller 57.
But demand never came close to expectations, peaking at barely 100 a year, rather than the once-forecast 1,000 to 2,000 annually. According to reports over the following years, each vehicle Maybach sold lost about 400,000, with eventual losses totaling more than $1 billion. That led Mercedes to officially scrap Maybach as a unique brand in 2012.
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It subsequently revived the Maybach badge as the ultimate trim level for a handful of products, including the S-Class, the GLS, the SL convertible and the EQS battery-electric vehicle. Looking ahead, Mercedes appears to be developing a new generation of standalone products, though the report suggests a full green light for launch has yet to be given.
“We have been evaluating this on a daily basis,” a senior Stuttgart source said, according to the Motor Trend report. “We are looking all the time into customer feedback and dealer feedback about what to change and what to improve.”
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The lavish interior of the 2027 Mercedes-Maybach S680 – complete with champagne flutes.
Current Maybach models do get a number of upgrades compared to lower-trim Mercedes packages.
The Maybach S-Class, for example, has a 133.7-inch wheelbase, a 7.1-inch stretch over the current long-wheelbase version of the sedan. That room is largely devoted to the rear passengers who get business class seating and amenities. It features a number of other unique interior and exterior design elements. And is the only S-Class, but for the armored Guard package, available with a 6.0-liter V-12.
Going forward, a revived Maybach product line-up would get even more distinct visual design differentiation from Mercedes-Benz packages, possibly even unique product lines not offered under the Mercedes badge. They’ll also be available with the German maker’s most exotic and powerful engine packages, including V-12s.
As for pricing, today’s most expensive Maybach, the GLS680, starts at under $200,000 – barely half what the Rolls Cullinan SUV goes for. This would give plenty of breathing room for future Maybach products to move up enough to generate solid profits, Mercedes planners believe, even while undercutting its rival.
According to the report, we could see Maybach alternatives to the next GLS SUV, S-Class sedan and SL roadster before the end of this decade.
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