Beginning of the end for Maybach
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CL Community Team
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From: Canada
Beginning of the end for Maybach
Mercedes close to absorbing Maybach ?
Monday 3 September 2007
At a time when Rolls-Royce and Bentley are both making record sales, Stuttgart’s luxury-limo brand Maybach seems to be sharing in none of the glory. According to executives at Mercedes-Benz it doesn’t cost much to keep Maybach on the market, but its a very different story when you head down the corporate ladder to over seventy American dealers who spent more than $500,000 in creating unique studios to showcase the car.
Initially expecting to sell over 500 cars a year in the U.S. alone, Maybach has come nowhere close to that figure with less than 800 cars being sold altogether so far. This despite the recent addition of two new models, the 57 S and 62 S (the ‘S’ standing for ’special’).
Rumours suggest that parent brand Mercedes-Benz may absorb the Maybach brand and implement it into its own lineup as a range topper. However management currently seems to be keeping quiet about the whole situation, according to a report by Automotive News. Only time will tell whether the revived brand name will continue to live on, or is put to rest once again.
Monday 3 September 2007
At a time when Rolls-Royce and Bentley are both making record sales, Stuttgart’s luxury-limo brand Maybach seems to be sharing in none of the glory. According to executives at Mercedes-Benz it doesn’t cost much to keep Maybach on the market, but its a very different story when you head down the corporate ladder to over seventy American dealers who spent more than $500,000 in creating unique studios to showcase the car.
Initially expecting to sell over 500 cars a year in the U.S. alone, Maybach has come nowhere close to that figure with less than 800 cars being sold altogether so far. This despite the recent addition of two new models, the 57 S and 62 S (the ‘S’ standing for ’special’).
Rumours suggest that parent brand Mercedes-Benz may absorb the Maybach brand and implement it into its own lineup as a range topper. However management currently seems to be keeping quiet about the whole situation, according to a report by Automotive News. Only time will tell whether the revived brand name will continue to live on, or is put to rest once again.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,386
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From: TX
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,386
Likes: 3
From: TX
Its to late to try to revive Maybach into a Mercedes badge. They should have considered a much more appealing design than just throw in a few Mercedes characterstics and price it three to four times more.
Bentley's are now bold and beautiful, Rolls Royce is classic luxury, and Maybachs...well...they just look like an overgrown 2004 S Class.
They need to do something to differentiate the car from others because it really doesn't have the type of brand cache of Bentley or Rolls, and is rather mundane in appearance when compared to those two. Gotta have heritage to sell it to old money, and "bling" to sell it to new money. It really has neither.
They need to do something to differentiate the car from others because it really doesn't have the type of brand cache of Bentley or Rolls, and is rather mundane in appearance when compared to those two. Gotta have heritage to sell it to old money, and "bling" to sell it to new money. It really has neither.
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well, ill tell you why they rnt selling, THEY R TO DAMN EXPENSIVE FOR WAT THEY ARE. a mercedes s class. almost the carmy to the es, its only different if u own one and live with it, but w/e. for the am price, u could get so much more. if i had the money, i would by the car, but it woudnt be the first on my list
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CL Community Team
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From: Canada
Beginning of the end for Maybach
Beginning of the end for Maybach
Posted on Monday 1 October 2007
It’s no secret Maybach has been a major flop for Mercedes-Benz. At a time when Rolls-Royce and Bentley are both making record sales, Maybach has struggled to move less than 800 cars since its launch in ’02. The decision has finally come to cull a large portion of Maybach franchises in the U.S., with 29 of the original 71 stores being closed.
Most of the Maybach stores also sell Mercedes models but dealers had to initially fork out over half a million dollars to accommodate the ultra-luxury label. Last year, total sales in the U.S. amounted to just 146 cars, well short of the initial goal of 600 units a year.
Speaking with Automotive News at the Frankfurt Motor Show last month, Mercedes’ U.S. Chief Ernst Lieb revealed those dealers affected by the decision will be compensated but most are expected to have lost significant investment. One dealer, who sold just seven Maybachs over five years, explained that the revenue wasn’t enough to cover the costs of the studio, demo car and inventory of parts.
One of Maybach’s key problems is that it essentially offers a bloated Mercedes-Benz at an exuberant price tag. The Maybach looks too much like a Mercedes and doesn’t offer anything significant over a fully-loaded S-class. Indeed, many critics have argued that the Maybach cars should have simply been branded with the familiar tri-star logo and the company could have prevented spending money on wasteful branding exercises.
Posted on Monday 1 October 2007
It’s no secret Maybach has been a major flop for Mercedes-Benz. At a time when Rolls-Royce and Bentley are both making record sales, Maybach has struggled to move less than 800 cars since its launch in ’02. The decision has finally come to cull a large portion of Maybach franchises in the U.S., with 29 of the original 71 stores being closed.
Most of the Maybach stores also sell Mercedes models but dealers had to initially fork out over half a million dollars to accommodate the ultra-luxury label. Last year, total sales in the U.S. amounted to just 146 cars, well short of the initial goal of 600 units a year.
Speaking with Automotive News at the Frankfurt Motor Show last month, Mercedes’ U.S. Chief Ernst Lieb revealed those dealers affected by the decision will be compensated but most are expected to have lost significant investment. One dealer, who sold just seven Maybachs over five years, explained that the revenue wasn’t enough to cover the costs of the studio, demo car and inventory of parts.
One of Maybach’s key problems is that it essentially offers a bloated Mercedes-Benz at an exuberant price tag. The Maybach looks too much like a Mercedes and doesn’t offer anything significant over a fully-loaded S-class. Indeed, many critics have argued that the Maybach cars should have simply been branded with the familiar tri-star logo and the company could have prevented spending money on wasteful branding exercises.
Out of Warranty
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From: Houston, Republic of Texas
The Maybach, despite being an excellent demonstration of what is technologically possible in a luxury car, was probably carried to greater excess than its real market would support. Its engineers and designers lavished every refinement they could dream of on this singular product - but no one stopped to ask, "Who is buying it?" They made the critical mistake of believing EVERYONE loved automotive technology as much as they did, would appreciate the great lengths to which the manufacturer and sales salon went to produce the ultimate in luxury, and would be willing to pay for it.
They forgot that to the vast majority of the truly wealthy - like many of the rest of us, a car is an appliance suited for moving one from here to there as fuss-free as possible. Indulgence finally has to confront utility at some point in the price spectrum, and Maybach stepped over the line.
While there are certainly a number of those people in the world, it looks like Mayback overestimated it. The vast majority of individuals who would never miss a half-megabuck dropped on their town car; those who appreciate the engineering excess of the Maybach would more likely to throw down on a Ferrari, not something in which the owner is relegated to passenger status. Car nuts are car nuts, whatever their tax bracket. It looks like only those who could appreciate the fine points of the Maybach's long list of features are either driving, or simply commuting from their penthouse to their Gulfstream. They are not going out for a drive to indulge themselves in backseat luxury.
This is another case of well-intended but short sighted developers working diligently to produce a superb answer to a question no one is asking.
They forgot that to the vast majority of the truly wealthy - like many of the rest of us, a car is an appliance suited for moving one from here to there as fuss-free as possible. Indulgence finally has to confront utility at some point in the price spectrum, and Maybach stepped over the line.
While there are certainly a number of those people in the world, it looks like Mayback overestimated it. The vast majority of individuals who would never miss a half-megabuck dropped on their town car; those who appreciate the engineering excess of the Maybach would more likely to throw down on a Ferrari, not something in which the owner is relegated to passenger status. Car nuts are car nuts, whatever their tax bracket. It looks like only those who could appreciate the fine points of the Maybach's long list of features are either driving, or simply commuting from their penthouse to their Gulfstream. They are not going out for a drive to indulge themselves in backseat luxury.
This is another case of well-intended but short sighted developers working diligently to produce a superb answer to a question no one is asking.
Last edited by Lil4X; Oct 1, 2007 at 09:41 AM.
