MotorTorque expert: Maybach's death makes sense
Daimler has confirmed that its ultra-luxury Maybach arm will close in 2013 after consistently poor sales returns and €1bn worth of investment.
But why has the brand struggled when the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley have experienced a boom in sales across the globe and in particular the emerging markets?
Mercedes’s decision to run down production at Maybach makes sense, both financially and in terms of brand image and what that means to a company ��� it’s all interlinked.
The majority of people who have heard of Maybach are the super rich, the ones who’ve probably been chauffeured round in one before; not the nouveau riche who’ve made a quick buck.
That’s where Maybach’s problems arise and also why the resurrection of the name by Daimler – bearing in mind that it already has Mercedes – always seemed a strange one.
Rolls-Royce and Bentley are prospering at the moment, despite the crippling economic crisis across the globe and that’s because they’re able to tap into emerging markets whilst maintaining consistent, if low, sales volumes in established markets like the UK and North America.
In China, Rolls-Royce sales surged by around 800 per cent in 2010 off the back of the Ghost launch and there was a similar boom in India too, enough for the company to sell around 2,500 units worldwide – proving demand for luxury barges is there.
Maybach managed a figure reportedly closer to 200 – because it doesn’t have the heritage, history or reputation that the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley do – and branding is everything.
There’s little wrong with Maybach from the inside – they’re about as luxurious, comfortable and plush as you could ever ask for, so that’s not the reason – nor is their exterior appearance.
Maybachs look dowdy or even ugly, but that matters little when you’re sat inside and experiencing the lie-flat seats and the comfort and toys more than £250,000 can afford you. That sounds extremely expensive but then so are Maybach’s competitors and money’s unlikely to be an issue for those discussing the purchase of a Maybach.
The reason it fails to secure the same number of sales as Rolls-Royce and Bentley is because the brand is not well known and Daimler faced the decision of pumping billions of Euros into promotions, advertising and increased exposure to try and catch up with its competitors; or the much simpler task of dropping the name and exploiting what they already have.
The top-end Mercedes models are plush and luxurious; but above all they are famous, revered and respected. In truth, they’re not far behind Rolls-Royce and Bentley. That’s why its decision to slap a Pullman badge – enough to distinguish it from the ‘common’ Mercedes – on a luxury S-Class, for example, makes sense.
Everyone who’s in the market to buy a luxury car has heard of Mercedes and that includes the nouveau riche and the more established elite. Immediately there’s more of a market to tap into.
Maybach could never draw on that heritage after more than 60 years in the wilderness and instead needed to rely on the oligarchs and ultra-rich to spread its reputation – something that never seemingly happened.
With a Mercedes badge, a luxury barge from Daimler has far more chance of succeeding.