Maybach Fails to Dent the Lead of Rolls, Bentley

In super-luxury cars, Daimler's Maybach is failing to mount a challenge to BMW's Rolls-Royce and Volkswagen's Bentley

By Chris Reiter and Mike Ramsey

(Bloomberg) — Rick Teague is one reason the future of Daimler AG's (DAI:US) super-luxury Maybach brand is in doubt.

The 53-year-old Texan had his pick of elite vehicles like Rolls-Royce and Bentley when he bought his new ride in September. The Maybach didn't get a second look.

"The Maybach looks way too close to a Lincoln to spend that kind of money," said Teague, who owns a health-supplement company and opted for a Bentley Continental GT. "I was looking for a combination of sport, exotic, luxury in a coupe. I don't think the Maybach had anything really close."

Maybach, with models starting at $358,000, is failing to mount a challenge to Bayerische Motoren Werke AG's (BAMXY:US) Rolls-Royce and Volkswagen AG's Bentley. The struggle weighs on Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler because defeat may reflect on Mercedes- Benz and hamper Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche's efforts to challenge BMW as the world's top luxury-car maker.

Daimler aimed to sell more than 1,000 a year when it reintroduced the 1930s-era marque in 2002. Businessman Donald Trump has one, as does singer Madonna. Still, sales topped out at 600 cars in 2003 and sagged to 300 last year. Rolls-Royce sold more than 1,400 vehicles in 2008, and Bentley, 7,600.

Shutting down Maybach may be the best option, said Wes Brown, an automotive analyst at Iceology Inc. in Los Angeles.

"The destiny of that brand is clearly in question," Brown said. "The Maybach really never achieved the sales results they wanted it to achieve, even at the height of conspicuous consumption."

Zeppelin Edition

Zetsche said Daimler is committed to the Maybach brand.

"We have no long-term decisions on Maybach at this time," he said in an interview Dec. 14 in Abu Dhabi. "We have proven that for this segment, we can build cars second to none and that was basically what we wanted to accomplish."

Daimler plans to update the Maybach 57 and 62 models next year with lower emissions and newer electronics. The design will be "a little more prominent" yet remain "understated" in keeping with the Maybach philosophy, Mercedes-Benz spokesman Christoph Horn said. The Zeppelin edition, introduced in April and limited to 100 vehicles, has sold out, he said.

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