End Of The Line For Maybach?

By Viknesh Vijayenthiran

Viknesh Vijayenthiran

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Vik is an Editor at High Gear Media and contributor for a number of sites within the High Gear Media network. He was a co-founder of... More

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2010 maybach zeppelin 008

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Reports of Maybach’s demise have been coming for almost as long as the brand (in its modern iteration) has been around for, which is now just on eight years. But with no new models in the pipeline, paltry sales figures of less than a third of what its closest rival, Rolls-Royce, enjoys, and less demand for hyper expensive cars all around the globe, the writing is definitely on the wall for the German ultra-luxury brand.

According to latest reports, Maybach’s only model, the 57 sedan and its long-wheelbase 62 variant, will receive a mild facelift to see it to the end of its product cycle. The facelift, which you can see here in our previous story, will consist primarily of a slightly tweaked grille, new headlights and a more aggressive lower air intake area.

By eliminating Maybach, the most expensive models in parent company Daimler’s arsenal will have to come from Mercedes-Benz. This will enable the next-generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class to move more upmarket, which designers hope to do by injecting it with even more technology and avant-garde styling.

However, despite the gloom surrounding Maybach, there is some support for the brand from within Daimler. CEO Dieter Zetsche has previously explained that Maybach doesn’t have to return a profit because it shows that Daimler can at least build a car to compete with the best in the business, Rolls-Royce and Bentley. The other positive is that development costs for Maybach were relatively low because both the 57 and 62 models are largely based on the S-Class.

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