Report: Maybach Brand faces wind down

[SKY]

I think a Super Benz would do much better than a Maybach in terms of design and sales. Just do the damm S-Class 4 door Coupe, make it all luxury and add the sporty touch of the Rapide, and pair it with the AMG engines and... et voila.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

The decision was delayed. Also, there won't be a Maybach concept at the IAA.
Daimler verzögert Entscheidung über Maybach - AUTOMOBIL PRODUKTION

Everyday I come here hoping there's something about Maybach. It annoys me no end that BMW and VW have managed with Rolls and Bentley, yet MB has fumbled so foolishly with Maybach.

Wolf, what is the article saying?

 

[HighestOfHigh]

It annoys me no end that BMW and VW have managed with Rolls and Bentley, yet MB has fumbled so foolishly with Maybach.

It is pretty obvious that Mercedes made several mistakes with Maybach. On the other hand, I do believe they would have been successful with Rolls-Royce or Bentley since they both had a more substantial history. Maybach almost needed to be started from scratch.

Either way I hope they don't give up on the first try. Mercedes is to great of a company to admit this type of failure by unloading Maybach.

 

[Wolfgang]

It says that Daimler cant seem to decide on the future of Maybach. That there were other priorities in recent months. "There is no concept study we are supposed to create with Aston Martin, to be shown at the IAA," a company spokesman said on request. "I know nothing of the project." The rumors that Daimler could work with Aston Martin on a new generation Maybach have been simmering for months and were also fueled by Daimler's CEO. "There are obviously companies out there who have more experience with small numbers than us," Zetsche said at a press conference in June.

Like SKYSONY I think the decision is not that difficult. In a first step just add the coupe to the lineup. Work with Aston/Magna/MBTech/Xenatec if needed. Unlike S-Class stick lots of easy to use buttons and large temperature and fan dials with good haptic and exquisite feel into the interior, maybe with some 'Britishness' (see jackiewhatever posts, she knows what S600+ folks are looking for), keep high tech with screen based multi-level option menus to a bare minimum. And while this new model is in preparation, announce the 57S/62S/Landaulet will remain in production until at least 2015. Continue the cooperation with Xenatec, run by Maybach gurus Leo Hustinx and Peter Mähling.

 

[SKY]

Like SKYSONY I think the decision is not that difficult. In a first step just add the coupe to the lineup. Work with Aston/Magna/MBTech/Xenatec if needed. Unlike S-Class stick lots of easy to use buttons and large temperature and fan dials with good haptic and exquisite feel into the interior, maybe with some 'Britishness' (see jackiewhatever posts, she knows what S600+ folks are looking for), keep high tech with screen based multi-level option menus to a bare minimum. And while this new model is in preparation, announce the 57S/62S/Landaulet will remain in production until at least 2015. Continue the cooperation with Xenatec, run by Maybach gurus Leo Hustinx and Peter Mähling.

That´s it. I don´t think it´s that difficult to see. Maybach is a anonymous brand, with no recent heritage not style, nor excitement. Mercedes is a much better brand in every aspect. It would be much better to Daimler to have a Merc in the Bentley/RR segment than a brand-anyone-knows-its-name.

The 4 door coupe we´ve been reading romours about is just perfect. It´s a segment created by MB, and something new for that price tag, as no RR nor Bentley is a 4 door coupe. Then just add the same level of cache a car of that price tag should have. But without all that no-buttons W221 sque.

Anyway, I think this report by Wolfgang just suggests the evidence. Maybach is more dead than alive.

 

[Wolfgang]

latest rumor from Auto Motor und Sport

The gorgeous Maybach trunk designed by Olivier Boulay, Murat Günak, Bruno Sacco, and popularised by Chris Bangle.

The decision was supposed to fall in late July. Shortly before the IAA the company that now makes much of an environmentally conscious image, doesn't want to talk of a new twelve-cylinder model. Only after the motor show will Daimler announce its decision, heard Auto Motor und Sport from business circles. Rumors are condensing that Maybach will be continued in cooperation with the British sports car manufacturer.

Maybach-Zukunft: Daimler hat die Entscheidung vertagt - AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT

 

[Giannis]

It's kind of sad and annoying to see that MB can't make a decision on Maybach's future. Why don't they play it on poker?

 

[K-A]

What is wrong with Daimler Corporate? Can't they make a simple friggin' decision? And is this some insanely inane attempt at gathering some kind of hype for the Maybach brand by dishing all this amateur nonsense about its possible future to the press and public?

 

[Nicks]

What is wrong with Daimler Corporate? Can't they make a simple friggin' decision? And is this some insanely inane attempt at gathering some kind of hype for the Maybach brand by dishing all this amateur nonsense about its possible future to the press and public?

Jeez, are you serious with that complain?

 

[Wolfgang]

Maybach modifier Xenatec hit problems this year and in October, had to enter liquidation. It’s alleged that bad management decisions, supply problems and high production costs were the cause of this.

Only eight cars were completely finished by the company, these went onto customers in Dubai, Germany and Switzerland and have been spotted on the roads over the summer. The liquidator says that three Maybach Coupé’s remain unfinished. They are looking for a buyer, but at £ 800,000, it doesn’t hold out much hope.

Xenatec had similarly ambitious plans for their future products. These included a shooting break Aston Martin DB9, a stretched four-seater Audi R8 and a two-door Mercedes-Benz CLS convertible. Not only did they produce the Maybach Coupé, they also focused on armored luxury cars for the rich and famous.

A deadline has been set for the end of November. If a serious buyer is not found by then, the company will enter bankruptcy and cease to exist. Ultimately, it was an ambitious project but we doubt whether we will see anymore Xenatec Maybach 57S Coupé’s.

No Interest Shown in Liquidated Maybach Modifier Xenatec

 

[Wolfgang]

Maybach to be axed by Mercedes

High ranking Mercedes-Benz sources have confirmed to Autocar that the under-performing Maybach brand will officially be killed off in 2013.

The decision to disband Mercedes-Benz’s upper luxury marque comes after lacklustre sales of the company’s existing 57 and 62 limousines and a recent decision from chairman Dieter Zetsche not to push ahead with the development of replacement models – the likes of which were tentatively due out in 2014 – owing to what one insider describes as a "positive move to focus greater attention on the Mercedes-Benz brand."

"We’ve come to the conclusion that it is better to cut our losses with Maybach than to continue into an uncertain future with a brand that has failed to live up to original sales expectations," said the insider. "Plans are already in place to fill the void left by the axing of the Maybach 57 and 62 with the next-generation S-class, which will be offered in three wheelbase variations, including a top-of-the-range S600 Pullman."

Moves to push Mercedes-Benz further upmarket into the segment follows an internal marketing study which came to the conclusion that it has more potential to succeed in the upper luxury segment against competition from the likes of Bentley and Rolls-Royce than Maybach, which despite being revered at home in Germany failed to gain traction in key world markets.

Despite the plan to dump Maybach, both the existing 57 and 62 will be produced through to early 2013, at which point the fifth-generation S-class is due to be introduced.

The original Maybach models, the 57 and 62, were named after their respective lengths of 5735mm and 6170mm. Both were based around stretched underpinnings of the already superceded third-generation S-class, first introduced in 1991.

A recent proposal to involve Aston Martin in the development of future Maybach models was abandoned in early 2011.

Greg Kable

Maybach to be axed by Mercedes - Autocar.co.uk

 

[Wolfgang]

Might be similar to the end of production of the Grosser in 1981?


W100 600 Grosser Production 1963-1981

Year #made Last one built that year
1963----3----------------0003
1964----107-------------0110
1965----408-------------0518
1966----323-------------0841
1967----159-------------1000
1968----223-------------1223
1969----336-------------1559
1970----236-------------1795
1971----237-------------2032
1972----210-------------2242
1973----82--------------2324
1974----52--------------2376
1975----42--------------2418
1976----47--------------2465
1977----55--------------2520
1978----40--------------2560
1979----53--------------2613
1980----44--------------2657
1981----20--------------2677

Total 2677 units, 2190 SWBs, 423 Pullmans, 59 landaulets.

Production of the 600 SWB started in August 1963 and the 600 LWB in September 1964.
The first customer was an American architect, who had placed the first order. When the
W116 S-Class was introduced in 1973, production dropped, and it dropped again when
the W126 S-Class started in 1980/81. The last 600 was built in June 1981.

http://www.germancarforum.com/older-mbs-vintage/235-grand-mercedes-600-w100-9.html

 

[HighestOfHigh]

Sad news!

 

[Nicks]

Yeah, sorry to hear that :-(

 

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Mercedes-Benz axes Maybach

[h=4]

High ranking Mercedes-Benz sources have confirmed to Autoweek that the underperforming Maybach brand will be officially killed off in 2013.The decision to disband Mercedes-Benz’s upper luxury marque comes after a decade of disappointing sales for the Maybach 57 and 62 and a recent decision from the German car maker’s chairman Dieter Zetsche not to push ahead with the development replacement models – the likes of which were tentatively due out in 2014 – owing to what one insider describes as a “positive move to focus greater attention on the Mercedes-Benz brand” .“We’ve come to the conclusion that it is better to cut our losses with Maybach than to continue into an uncertain future with a brand that has failed to live up to original sales expectations," the insider said. "Plans are already in place to fill the void left by the axing of the Maybach 57 and 62 with the next-generation S-class, which will be offered in three wheelbase variations and six different body styles, including a top-of-the-range S600 Pullman.”Mercedes-Benz U.S.A. did not have an immediate comment.Moves to push Mercedes-Benz further up-market into the segment follows an internal marketing study which came to the conclusion that it has more potential to succeed in the upper luxury segment against competition from the likes of Bentley and Rolls-Royce than Maybach, which despite being revered at home in Germany has failed to gain traction in other key world markets.At the Maybach’s heavily hyped re-launch in New York in 2002, then-Mercedes-Benz chairman, Juergen Hubbert, said the original business case for the 57 and 62 was based on annual sales of 800--a figure it has apparently failed to ever achieve. In the same time, rivals Rolls-Royce and Bentley have undergone massive restructuring and have seen sales grow to record levels in recent years.Despite the plan to dump Maybach, both the existing 57 and 62 will be produced through to early 2013, at which point the fifth-generation S-class is due to be introduced. “There is no sense producing beyond this date, as there will no longer be any production synergies," said an Autoweek source familiar with Mercedes-Benz’s plans.The 57 and 62 are named after their respective lengths of 5735 mm (225.8 inches) and 6170 mm (242.9 inches). Both are based around stretched underpinnings of the third-generation S-class first introduced in 1991. It standard guise they are powered by a 550-hp version of Mercedes-Benz’s twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V12 engine. A more powerful 62 S version also offered with a 621bhp twin turbocharged 6.0-liter V12.The Maybach brand was resurrected by Mercedes-Benz in 2002 following its failure to purchase Rolls-Royce and Bentley from then owner Vickers after being outbid by Volkswagen, which then ceded control of Rolls-Royce to BMW. A recent proposal to involve Aston Martin in the development of future Maybach models was abandoned in early 2011.​

Read more: Mercedes-Benz axes Maybach - Autoweek​

[/h]

 

[Giannis]

Threads merged. Please do a quick search of the various subforums before you post an article!

Thanks.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

It's sad and an admission of defeat for Maybach, But I like the fact that Zetsch understands the Mercedes brand so deeply, and understands that there is absolutely not reason why it can not take Rolls and Bentley head on. This is what separates Mercedes from Audi and BMW, the very top end. There is no way Audi and BMW will move into this market. Well at least not for a long long time.

Bring on the Mercedes super saloons, convertibles and coupes!

 

[K-A]

Amazing news! Good to see that with all the cheap/commuter vehicles M-B is bringing to the market, they'll attempt to balance out the brands qualities by focusing on utilizing Mercedes-Benz as their most upmarket models as well. Very necessary if they don't want their name to lose its rich perception and go the way of a German "Toyota" of sorts.

 

[Cashmere]

Good news for Rolls Royce. They will pretty much have a monopoly.

 

[fortuner]

Me having sat in and driven Maybach allways hoped that Mercedes would not kill the Maybach..it could have been a great success had they been more smarter and proactive..Who do you blame for the failure i blame Mercedes itself it was a lazy attempt in terms off design the exteroir wise...I think we all know had it been designed properly it would have been a hit but they failed with the exterior design.The drivetrain and interior i can say are still superb till today...I feel like crying man...So Sad anyway if MB can do like the ocean drive concept but a level or two above the S class i think they can make it work lets see .....