It’s no secret Maybach has been a major flop for Mercedes-Benz. At a time when Rolls-Royce and Bentley were both making record sales, Maybach has struggled to move just over 800 cars since its launch in 2002. Furthermore, sales for the ultra-luxury marquee were down almost 25% last year and this year isn’t shaping up to be much better.
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-Benz and many critics have argued that its cars should have simply been branded with the familiar Three Pointed Star logo, which in turn would have saved a lot of money from wasteful branding exercises.
To inject some life and excitement into its model range, Maybach revived its flagship Zeppelin nameplate for a pair of special edition sedans (pictured) earlier this year, however, a much more significant update to the lineup is coming next year.
The information comes directly from Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, who revealed that facelifted versions of the Maybach 57 and 62 sedans were coming next year.
Surprisingly, Zetsche admitted that luxury buyers' tastes were changing towards more "discreet and subtle luxury," possibly suggesting that no replacement is planned for the current model lineup.
"The contribution of Maybach is not significant or relevant but there are only two players in this market and we are one of them. But there are no plans in the long run," he said during a recent interview.
[Autocar]
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