In order to break the trend that has lowered the sales and kept the profitability of Daimler AG's Maybach ultra-luxury cars at bay, the company has decided to discontinue the car’s production. It is important to note that the Maybach brand will go into the dark merely 10 years after it was infused with much needed life.
However, the German luxury car maker did have some encouraging plans on the cards, as it expressed the desire to expand its flagship Mercedes-Benz segment, the S-Class, from three to six variants. The three new entrants would be a part of the new generation of the model being launched in 2013. Till then, Daimler confirmed that it would continue to manufacture the ultra-premium Maybach.
Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche stated during an interview to a German newspaper that the highest end of its luxury model line up would be used to achieve a sales push; the task that was a fool's errand for Maybach. Although its opulent experience and a decent $375,250 starting price received overwhelming response at auto shows, its sales plunged in no time, bringing the figures to less than 200 Maybachs worldwide last year.
"We came to the strong conclusion that the sales chances for the Mercedes brand are much stronger than those for Maybach," Zetsche was quoted as saying in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung interview, whose information and content was confirmed by Daimler.
At present, Daimler sells approximately 80,000 S-Class models a year, which wear a starting price tag of $91,850. However, following the expansion spree that the line up will go through, Zetsche said the company is confident of doubling the sales in the segment over a period of time.
Daimler's management has desperately been in search of a tool that possesses the capability to negate the blows received due to the Maybach. The recent consideration of joining hands with the British sports carmaker Aston Martin was directed towards vitiating the Maybach sufferings. However, grabbing sufficient demand for the super-luxury brand proved to be even more difficult for the company.
In 2002, Daimler revived the Maybach following the footsteps of rivals BMW AG and Volkswagen AG, which entered into the super-luxury market with aplomb by acquiring Rolls Royce and Bentley brand rights respectively.
It must be noted that the marque did not witness the expected success and rather struggled to reach the level and class displayed by its British rivals. If industry experts are to be believed, the Maybach's design did not carry a distinct identity, on being compared with the S-Class. Moreover, it shared the platform and technology with the S-Class.
Thus, the idea to widen the S-Class range could possibly mean that Daimler will be able to confront Rolls Royce and Bentley, aiming to subjugate major part of the market that the two British brands currently rule.
