The ultra-luxury car sector has always been a tricky one to crack, dominated as it is by certain brands that have been around for many decades. And so Daimler, with its Maybach brand, has been compelled to take its last bow in the light of stiff competition from the likes of Rolls Royce and Bentley.
While the Maybach name may not be well known among many of us, it was actually revived by Daimler – following a period of 60 years out of production. The German firm felt the need to enter the market nine years ago soon after fellow German car makers BMW and Volkswagen purchased the Rolls Royce and Bentley brands respectively.
But the company’s target of 1000 sales a year has not been attained; just 200 were sold annually. Daimler’s attempt at ‘vehicle recovery’ of the Maybach brand has turned out to be rather costly, with an overall investment of over 1 billion euros across the last nine years.
Daimler has chosen instead to focus on the slightly-less-expensive luxury car market – namely the one in which its own Mercedes brand is doing rather well.
So it’s goodbye to the Maybach name for now – and probably forever; if a global car maker such as Daimler can’t revive it with its money and resources, it is unlikely anyone else will be able to. And with a price tag of around 260,000 pounds, it appears as if most millionaires prefer to put their cash into more famous names such as Rolls Royce and Bentley.
Breakdown Cover from 
