Mercedes-Benz to drop Maybach Brand

The under-performing Maybach brand has finally reached the end of the road and will be replaced by a range-topping S600 Pullman for the 2014 model year. Autoweek reports that high ranking Mercedes-Benz sources have confirmed to them that the Maybach brand will be officially killed off in 2013.

The decision to disband Mercedes-Benz’s upper luxury marque comes after a decade of disappointing sales for the Maybach 57 and 62 and a recent decision from the German car maker’s chairman Dieter Zetsche not to push ahead with the development replacement models – the likes of which were tentatively due out in 2014 – owing to what one insider describes as a “positive move to focus greater attention on the Mercedes-Benz brand” .

“We’ve come to the conclusion that it is better to cut our losses with Maybach than to continue into an uncertain future with a brand that has failed to live up to original sales expectations,” the insider said. “Plans are already in place to fill the void left by the axing of the Maybach 57 and 62 with the next-generation S-class, which will be offered in three wheelbase variations and six different body styles, including a top-of-the-range S600 Pullman.”

Mercedes-Benz U.S.A. did not have an immediate comment.