
BMW and VW wanted into the luxury end of the market. They knew having the correct brand name was as important as making fabulous cars. BMW obtained Rolls Royce, while VW secured Bentley. Mercedes Benz realised it had to get into that stratospheric segment too, but they decided to reintroduce an old, not well known marque. The Maybach brand was born. It probably seemed a better value option to what VW and BMW did. So, did it succeed? If we compare production figures of the three brands below, we will see:
Year | Bentley | Rolls Royce | Maybach |
2002 | 1065 | 150 | 50 |
2003 | 792 | 500 | 700 |
2004 | 7690 | 875 | 570 |
2005 | 9560 | 700 | 300 |
2006 | 10035 | 830 | 300 |
2007 | 9975 | 1,010 | 240 |
2008 | 7675 | 1,390 | 320 |
2009 | 3600 | 870 | 275 |
2010 | 4790 | 3,220 | 160 |
You can clearly see that Maybach was never popular, despite MB spending more than a billion Euros getting it going and expecting to make 1,000 units pa. They obviously lost a great deal of money on it. The name was never a good one, the car itself lacked style and distinction. To me it was somewhat tasteless; excess without class. It will cease production in 2013, to be replaced by extra models within the Mercedes Benz 600 series. Does the Mecedes Benz name have the cachet to take on RR or Bentley? I'm thinking no. Meanwhile, the other two marques are doing just fine.
In summary: I don't think Maybach's passing will be mourned by anyone.