Maybach to expand and may include SUVs

Mercedes-Benz design vice-president Gorden Wagener has said that the Maybach name may find itself on more than one Mercedes model.

Speaking at the LA motor show overnight, where Mercedes unveiled the new Mercedes-Maybach S600 in the metal for the first time, the design boss said the customisation and hyper-luxury of the Maybach-badged saloon could easily be applied to other cars in the range – even an SUV.

That means that the Maybach range may, for the first time, stretch not only from the S-Class saloon to the svelte-looking coupe, but also as low down the Benz hierarchy as the CLS.

A Maybach ML-Class – or GLE-Class, as it will be known under the brand's new naming format announced last week – would make a suitable rival not only to the forthcoming Bentley SUV, but also the yet-to-be-confirmed Rolls-Royce SUV. "Why not?", Wagener told journalists with a wry smile when asked about the SUV.

Maybach models aren't specifically targeting BMW-owned Rolls-Royce, despite the fact that the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class will be priced at around $545K – the same ask as that of a Rolls-Royce Ghost, which has just been de-contented and given a $100K price cut.

The competition from Mercedes-Maybach should only push Rolls-Royce harder.