Cars and Drivers
Why Mercedes-Benz Will Build Maybach SUV in Alabama
Published:
Last Updated:
Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz may be one of the best-known luxury brands on the planet. Less well-known, perhaps, is its ultra-luxury brand, Maybach. The 2018 Mercedes-Maybach sedan is available in two models, the S 560 and the S 650, with prices starting at $168,600 and $198,700, respectively.
While an official announcement has not yet been made, Mercedes is said to be preparing to build a super-luxury Mercedes-Maybach GLS sport utility vehicle at its plant in Vance, Alabama, according to a report at Automotive News. The ultra-luxury SUV will be powered by a V8 engine making in excess of 560 horsepower and will have a starting price of around $200,000.
The GLS could be unveiled as soon as next month at the Shanghai Auto Show. Chinese buyers bought more than two-thirds of all Maybachs sold last year, so it makes sense to reveal the GLS in China.
What’s the market for a new SUV that costs nearly as much as a median-priced U.S. home? Buyers are expected to be younger than the buyers for Maybach’s sedans, now viewed as too old-fashioned.
According to analysts at AutoForecast Solutions, the global market for ultra-luxury SUVs is on track to rise from around 7,500 last year to more than 20,000 by 2023, with 75% of the market shared between the United States and China. The Mercedes-Maybach will be competing with ultra-high-end SUVs from Aston Martin, Ferrari, Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini, all of which are already available and all but the Ferrari Purosangue will be by the end of this year. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan sells for a tidy $325,000.
Tim Urquhart of IHS Markit told Automotive News that the Mercedes-Maybach GLS will “appeal to the Kardashians and hip-hoppers if they want something slightly different” from the existing Mercedes G class and AMG variant. Not to mention considerably more expensive with a higher margin for the automaker.
The Mercedes Alabama plant is also in the early stages of a $1 billion upgrade to build a new battery plant and begin building the company’s EQ line of electric vehicles due out in the first years of the next decade. The plant is the second-largest exporter of U.S.-built vehicles (trailing only BMW). Mercedes builds all its SUVs (G, GLS and GLE) in Alabama.
ALERT: Take This Retirement Quiz Now (Sponsored)
Take the quiz below to get matched with a financial advisor today.
Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.
Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future
Take the retirement quiz right here.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Editors' Picks
