Daimler presented a luxury concept car at the 1997
Tokyo Motor Show. A production model based on it was introduced in two sizes – the
Maybach 57 and the
Maybach 62, reflecting the lengths of the automobiles in
decimetres. In 2005, the 57S was added, powered by a 6.0 L V12
bi-turbo engine producing and of torque, and featuring cosmetic touches. To promote the new Maybach line, Mercedes-Benz engaged figures such as Maybach heir
Ulrich Schmid-Maybach and golfer
Nick Faldo to serve as
brand ambassadors. Initially,
Daimler-Chrysler predicted annual sales of 2,000 worldwide with 50 percent coming from the United States. These expectations never materialized. In 2007, Mercedes bought back 29 US dealers, reducing the total from 71 to 42. In 2010, only 157 Maybachs were sold worldwide, compared to 2,711 similarly priced Rolls-Royces. By the time of the announcement that the brand was to be laid back to rest, 3,000 had been sold worldwide since the brand was revived in 2002. In November 2011, Daimler announced that Maybach would cease to be a brand by 2013 and manufactured the last Maybach vehicle in December 2012. This was because of poor sales.
Cancellation With poor sales and the heavy impact of the
2008 financial crisis, Daimler AG undertook a complete review of the Maybach division, approaching
Aston Martin to engineer and style the next generation of Maybach models along with the next generation of
Lagondas. According to
Automotive News, only 44 Maybachs were sold in the US in the first ten months of 2011. An article in
Fortune noted that Mercedes had missed out on the chance to purchase Rolls-Royce and Bentley when they were up for sale in the 1990s: Mercedes backpedaled and decided it needed to be in the ultra-luxury business too, but it went after it in a remarkably clumsy way. It stated that the first Maybach models had poor driving dynamics compared to its contemporaries from Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Mercedes took an aging S-class chassis and plopped an absurdly elongated body on it ... rather than develop a new car from the wheels up, as BMW did with Rolls-Royce, or cleverly use the underpinnings of an existing model like the
Volkswagen Phaeton for a new Bentley. Maybachs were never advertised as owner-driven vehicles, as the company believed that the luxury amenities would be sufficient to drive sales, and they even insisted that auto journalists, who usually test drive the vehicle, ride in the back seat. In November 2011, Daimler's CEO Dieter Zetsche announced that the Maybach-brand would cease to exist in 2012, making room for other models of the
Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The Maybach-limousines were still being sold up to 2013, but after that, the name "Maybach" would not be used. In August 2012, parent Daimler AG announced the official discontinuation of Maybach by releasing a price sheet discontinuing the Maybach 57, 57S, 62, 62S and Landaulet. On 17 December 2012, the last Maybach vehicle was manufactured in Sindelfingen. ==2015–present==