[Y@SH]

Source: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Daimler AG has decided to discontinue its Maybach ultra-luxury cars after failing to find a fix for their dwindling sales and lack of profitability, barely a decade after resuscitating the Maybach brand.
Mercedes-Benz is finally pulling the plug on the Maybach ultra-luxury brand after the sales of these cars failed to improve. The loss making unit will be discontinued by 2013, this according to Daimler AG- the owners of the brand. Maybach will be replaced by the Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman. The car maker had revealed news plans for the S-Class range of limousines a few weeks back. The next generation of the S-Class will be offered in different body styles including a four-seat convertible which will replace the CL-Class.
By opting to expand the S-Class range, Daimler hopes to still compete with the likes of Rolls Royce and Bentley, aiming to capture more of the market that the two storied British brands have successfully expanded into with "lower-end" models that range between $180,00 and $300,000.

Personally, I never liked Maybachs and against Rolls Royce's and Bentley's who would buy a Maybach?


Including a short video I found on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSdJFrH3Q9A

[Enigmatic]

It seems as if Mercedes is just giving up on Mayback ..They should have tried to revive the brand instead of just discontinuing it ..

And seriously who would buy an S class instead of a Rolls Royce !!
No matter how much you stretch it and no matter how good it is but an S class to a Phantom ..
.. Not me ..

[D33-PAC]

They never had a solid brand. They never took the opposition seriously. They haven't even changed the exteriors of the car much. They weren't even competing virtually. The Phantom sales number speak volumes.


I have recently seen a Maybach. It's not the most attractive of cars(IMHO). But I will never forget the day I saw a Phantom EWB. The way the Phantom moves....wow. Truly a Monarch's car. So much confidence, so regal,so magnificent, so bold, ad infinitum. Can't say the same for the S with the funky M logo.
Maybe that's where Daimler went wrong.

The guy buying a car in such a price bracket usually isn't an enthusiast , so the specifications aren't too big of a deal. But someone who throws so much dough wants to feel special, there has to be ego satisfaction. Something that when rolling on the road says "I'm in a different league than you".

Every other wealthy guy has a S . Inflation of exclusivity has occurred with the S.Even in India. How they thought putting a Maybach logo on an elongated S would be profitable is beyond me. Maybe they're used to assuming sheer snob value of the logo would sell.

They haven't even remodeled the exterior that much. Daimler was foolish/arrogant in that sense.

[kbrtz125]

I remember seeing one in Pune which was brought by Mr. Dhariwal of Manikchand Industries for around 5 crores. But feel that it does not have the same appeal as that of RR or Bentley. It was like a class apart inspite of being in the same price range.

[Kartik Krishnan]

Its a conscious decision from Mercedes.
Maybe discontinuing the Maybach should help them focus on newer additions to their list of vehicles.

I personally would be looking forward to the "The next generation of the S-Class will be offered in different body styles including a four-seat convertible which will replace the CL-Class."

Would like to see what that would be like!

[Sahil]

While this can only mean good news for the next gen S-class as MB can go all out without worrying about carrying too much over from the Maybach, however expecting the S-class to compete with the Rolls Royce and Bentleys doesn't make sense inspite of having different body types etc.

[GTO]

It's not the case that uber-luxury cars don't sell. Consider Rolls Royce. Rather, Mercedes' failure has been in selling a better, more modern luxury car (the S-Class) at 1/4th the price. Or, another way to look at it would be that the Maybach (based on a 2 generation old S-Class) is simply not worth 4X the $$$ you would spend on an S500 / S600. It was never a looker either...the weird, garish styling is a put-off and looks outdated a decade after launch. The Maybach has completely failed on the product factor, and not necessarily on the brand.

[AMATMO]

i still have a feeling if they had sold it for half its current price it would have done well. anyway it was just a mercedes S class with some gizmos and luxury feature .if they had priced it same as or little lesser than phantom they would have sold good numbers and given Rolls some challenge . Maybach was a better car from the inside it could follow the footsteps of the Grosser S600 pullman ,which could justify its price as the most sophisticated car of its time ,but with this outrageous pricing Maybach looked more like expensive jewelry and it was not as striking to look at as a piece of jewelry. rolls royce sold for brand for a century but mercedes is supposed to offer value. i just wish one could have a maybach at 3.5 crores it would have had a chance

[suhaas307]

Maybach were simply too ambitious, in my opinion. They priced the 62 so high, that a fully spec'd variant would be more expensive than even Rolls Royce's flagship, the Phantom, with all options ticked.

If Maybach wanted to do well, they should have updated the Maybach and positioned it against the likes of the Bentley Continental Flying Spur/Bentley Mulsanne, or maybe even the Rolls Royce Ghost.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

An UGLY car & over-rated brand (when compared to RR/Bentley) finally shuts its doors for good. Couldn't be happier.
I agree to a certain extent that this could mean the future S-classes raise the bar for standards of luxury, comfort in the A8/7/S/XJ segment.

[aditya101]

Mercedes Benz should at least continue the Maybach name by offering enhanced cars from their banner .... something like what AMG stands for performance, Maybach can offer luxury versions of S-class and other models

[devarshi84]

The brand never really caught fancy of buyers against Rolls-Royce and Bentley. The company is itself to blame for the debacle since they were not able to handle the brand properly.

BMW in comparison is doing an excellent job.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Maybach were simply too ambitious, in my opinion. They priced the 62 so high, that a fully spec'd variant would be more expensive than even Rolls Royce's flagship, the Phantom, with all options ticked.

If Maybach wanted to do well, they should have updated the Maybach and positioned it against the likes of the Bentley Continental Flying Spur/Bentley Mulsanne, or maybe even the Rolls Royce Ghost.

It is said that even at that price point they made a loss on each unit sold. Though am not sure, possibly due to the fact that they are not exactly experts in hand building cars as compared to RR & Bentley.

Originally Posted by aditya101

Mercedes Benz should at least continue the Maybach name by offering enhanced cars from their banner .... something like what AMG stands for performance, Maybach can offer luxury versions of S-class and other models

Agree they should have a Maybach range of Full spec S-Class from the Luxury aspect vs the AMG performance aspect.

[scopriobharath]

What would happen to the existing Maybach customers ? Would spares and maintenance still be available ?

I pray they at least sell the brand to someone else. I am sure Tatas and Mahindras can bid for it. It could be a ticket for Mahindra's forray into the super snob luxury segment.

If Tata buys the brand, you could probably buy a maybach for 80 lacs OTR India. or a stripped down indica specced version for 40 lacs OTR.

[jaguar.runs]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

What would happen to the existing Maybach customers ? Would spares and maintenance still be available ?

I pray they at least sell the brand to someone else. I am sure Tatas and Mahindras can bid for it. It could be a ticket for Mahindra's forray into the super snob luxury segment.

If Tata buys the brand, you could probably buy a maybach for 80 lacs OTR India. or a stripped down indica specced version for 40 lacs OTR.

The Maybach brand will be supported by Mercedes Benz in future also. Look at SLR, they officially stopped production in 2009 (except the 25 Mclaren Edition which came out in 2010-2011) but Mercedes Benz still support the product.

Mercedes Benz plans to produce 3 more models in the S-class platform other than the existing short and long wheelbase S-class and the CL Coupe. Maybach production will be discontinued once the new S-class is launched in 2013.