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Bentley Sees Opportunity In The Demise Of Maybach

 
9 729 views Jan 16, 2012

2012 Bentley Continental GTC. Photo copyright Marty Padgett 2011.

HI-RES GALLERY: 2012 Bentley Continental GTC. Photo copyright Marty Padgett 2011.
In the automotive world, few things define “conspicuous consumption” quite as well as Daimler’s Maybach brand. The entry-level Maybach, the 57, starts at roughly $375,000 before options and personalization, and the Maybach 62 can easily top the half-million dollar barrier if you go heavy on options.

The brand’s exclusivity has helped it attract celebrity owners like Jay-Z, King Juan Carlos of Spain, the Sultan of Brunei and even actor Samuel L. Jackson. That may help with media coverage, but it doesn’t help with profitability, so Daimler has made the decision to kill off the Maybach brand.

Instead, Mercedes-Benz will focus on taking the S-Class more upscale, and hopes to attract existing Maybach owners looking to replace their cars. As Automotive News (subscription required) points out, Bentley hopes to lure away existing Maybach owners with personalized attention.

If you own a Maybach, expect to get a letter from Bentley, specifically from Bentley CEO  Wolfgang Duerheimer. In his own words, “The withdrawal of Maybach is a business opportunity for us and we’re going to use it.”

To showcase Bentley, Maybach owners are invited to attend a VIP tour of the brand’s Crewe, England factory. Duerheimer hopes this will help create a “welcome zone” inside the Bentley brand, which offers a broader model range than Maybach, perhaps with a bit less prestige.

Bentley wants to target Porsche Cayenne Turbo owners, too, but lacks a competitive vehicle to do so. Duerheimer is pressuring Volkswagen, Bentley’s parent, to approve development of a Bentley-branded SUV to counter the Cayenne Turbo.

Then there’s Rolls-Royce, the other ultra-premium English automaker whose products can rival Maybach in pricing. While Rolls-Royce would welcome Maybach customers to the brand, it’s not actively targeting owners.

In the words of a Rolls-Royce spokesman, “seeking them (Maybach owners) out and hunting them down is not the Rolls-Royce way.”



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Comments (9)

  1. Countach avatar Countach Posted: 1/16/2012 9:12am PST

    Wolfgang Duerheimer seems pretty desperate! I like what the Roll Royce spokesman said! That is class!
     
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  2. fb_100000079225802 avatar Samuel Choi Posted: 1/16/2012 11:32am PST

    Ahh, I'm going to miss Maybach, they could have developed a very nice design for the next generation. oh well :(
     
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  3. WizardsLore avatar WizardsLore Posted: 1/16/2012 8:00pm PST

    why would VW give Bently permission to utilise their SUV plaform to take on the Cayenne Turbo ? that is brand canibalisation. if anything they should develop in house and aim between the base Cayenne and the Turbo to maximise sales.
     
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  4. fb_1491948054 avatar Kurt Ernst Posted: 1/17/2012 4:23am PST

    @WizardsLore, it may be brand cannibalization, but at least it would keep sales in the VW family. Better to keep a customer "in the family" than lose them to competitors like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and potentially Maserati.
     
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  5. WizardsLore avatar WizardsLore Posted: 1/18/2012 6:55pm PST

    but it wouldnt. between the Tiguan, Cayjun, Tourag and Cayenne just VW and Porsche have the while range coverred. If anything....i will correct my previous comment. They should go Hyper Luxury, that is beyond the Cayenne Turbo and be the bespoke car that Bently aspires itself to represent
     
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  6. WizardsLore avatar WizardsLore Posted: 1/18/2012 6:55pm PST

    but it wouldnt. between the Tiguan, Cayjun, Tourag and Cayenne just VW and Porsche have the while range coverred. If anything....i will correct my previous comment. They should go Hyper Luxury, that is beyond the Cayenne Turbo and be the bespoke car that Bently aspires itself to represent
     
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  7. fb_1491948054 avatar Kurt Ernst Posted: 1/19/2012 3:27am PST

    @WizardsLore, that's the intent of Bentley. They can't "out-Porsche" the Cayenne Turbo, but they can out-luxury it.
     
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  8. WizardsLore avatar WizardsLore Posted: 1/19/2012 4:09pm PST

    then it may turn out to be a winner. Besides if the Luxo Lambo is a contendor along with the Kubang from Mazza then there is an inherent need for Bentley to go further upscale from the Cayenne Turbo. it wouldnt necessarily be a high volume seller but it would be massively profitable. I can forsee a totally bespoke SUV/MPV/4x4 genre opening up in the Hyper Luxury SUV market. In Australia that would be starting prices of between $250k to $300k (Cayenne Turbo S list price is $230k)
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  9. WizardsLore avatar WizardsLore Posted: 1/19/2012 4:09pm PST

    then it may turn out to be a winner. Besides if the Luxo Lambo is a contendor along with the Kubang from Mazza then there is an inherent need for Bentley to go further upscale from the Cayenne Turbo. it wouldnt necessarily be a high volume seller but it would be massively profitable. I can forsee a totally bespoke SUV/MPV/4x4 genre opening up in the Hyper Luxury SUV market. In Australia that would be starting prices of between $250k to $300k (Cayenne Turbo S list price is $230k)
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