Straightline

The Maybach brand is not preforming up to Mercedes-Benz sales expectations. In fact there's concern that the Maybach brand may actually be hurting MB dealers. Each Mercedes dealer that sells Maybachs had to invest over $500,000 to prepare their dealership to handle the new brand, and many of these dealers are not getting their investment back in terms of sales.

500 Maybach sales per year had been projected, but actual sales have been only 778 cars since it debuted.

Full story here.

In a related story, might Mercedes fold the Maybach line into the Mercedes-Benz lineup, rather than keep it a separate brand? Hmmm... Not sure that's a good idea, as by doing that, it'll never be held in the same esteem as the Rolls Royce.

My take: I think the success of the new Rolls-Royce Phantom has put a real hurting on the Maybach. In terms of projecting one's ego—which is key in this segment—the Phantom is in a class by itself. There are only so many customers in this rarefied market, and the new RR has grabbed most of them.