Maybach Will Return, Riding On a Mercedes Platform
If you were one of the few who were hugely saddened to see Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler (DDAIF.PK) shut down and have a $450,000 or so block of cash that’s burning a hole in your pocket, it looks like the German ultra-luxury namesake might be making a comeback, Reuters reports. The ultra-limousines, which were discontinued likely due to soft sales, will be making a return on some new demand from some incredibly wealthy Asian and U.S. clients.
The new cars, which will be based on Mercedes-Benz’s S Class limo, will make their debuts at both the Guangzhou and the Los Angeles auto shows in November. It’s expected to cost roughly twice the asking price of the current $228,000 Mercedes S600, the large sedan, on which it will share its underpinnings.
Maybach sold just 200 vehicles in 2011, but the cars are favored among the world’s elite celebrities and royal family members. The smaller units costed about $380,000 but didn’t succeed in pulling business from the likes of Rolls-Royce or Bentley, both of which have well-established loyal fan bases to work from.
Reuters reports that the new Maybach will be about 20 centimeters longer than even the extended version of its S-Class, emphasizing extra leg space for the backseat (it is a limo, after all — besides, you’ll need the extra room so the reclining seats can fold out entirely, right?). It’ll be the longest sedan in Mercedes’s fleet, at least until the Pullman limo is revealed.
The news of Maybach’s return comes as Credit Suisse released its latest World Weath Report, which indicates that there are now 98,700 individuals with assets worth more than $50 million each, and by 2018, global wealth will jump a further 40 percent to reach $334 trillion, the bank said. The vast majority of the 2 million new millionaires since 2012 are in the U.S. and Asia, Reuters said, citing the study.
A new Maybach would be competing with the growing lineup expansions at Bentley and Rolls-Royce, properties of Volkswagen AG and BMW AG, respectively. Bentley is investing in a new plug-in hybrid structure that’s debuting at this year’s Beijing Auto Show in the Mulsanne, and Rolls-Royce has been shrinking its models from the colossal Phantom to appeal to a wider band of prospective buyers.
Bentley has also been implementing high-output V8s in place of the traditional V12s, in a bid to better comply with regional emissions standards. Rolls-Royce hasn’t indicated that it’s making a switch from the big 12-cylinder units, and it’s likely that the new Maybach will be adorned with Mercedes-Benz’s twin-turbo 6.0 liter V12 — the same found in the 2015 S600 — as well.