Super Luxury brand Maybach is back in India after 5 years

German carmaker Mercedes Benz’s super luxury brand Maybach is back in India after nearly five years. Maybach will now operate as a sub-brand of Mercedes instead of a standalone unit as it did earlier.

The company rolled out two variants, the Maybach S500 and S600. The S500, priced at Rs 1.67 crore, will be the most expensive car to be assembled in India, while the fully built import variant S600 will cost Rs 2.60 crore.

Bookings for the S500 started on the day of the launch, but the company said it has already sold out the allocated units of the S600 for the entire 2015 within two weeks of opening bookings for the model.

Eberhard Kern, managing director and chief executive of Mercedes Benz India told ET that the company endeavours to continuously offer nothing but the best to its customers and with Maybach it is taking luxury to the next level.

"The best becomes better with Maybach. It is an exclusive sub-brand catering to a completely different segment. It is meant for customers who seek prestige and status," he said.

The company sees this model as a brand shaper for Mercedes Benz and Halo model that the existing luxury car owners will look up to.

The vehicle boasts the quietest car cabin, rear seat belt airbags as part of total 12 airbags, an air balance package which ionises the air in the car, exclusive nappa leather upholstery, hot stone massage seats and airmatic suspension, according to the company.

Although the company did not reveal numbers of Maybach bookings, ET learned that more than 40 units of S600 have been booked.

The Maybach S500 will be the company's eighth model to be assembled at its local production base, after the C, E, S, ML, GL, CLA and GLA models.

India is the company's first base outside Germany where S500 is being assembled, underlining the company's confidence in the country. The vehicle boasts 30-40% localisation. Local production of Maybach S500 proves high competence of local manufacturing in India and the ability of the company to offer exclusive products with local value addition in the shortest possible time, said Piyush Arora, executive director, operations.

The launch was the 12th of the 15 new models Mercedes Benz had announced for India. The new products have accelerated Mercedes Benz's sales 40% over that a year ago, to 6,600 units, and helped it dislodge Audi from the No. 1 position in the first half of the year.

Kern said he expects the market to grow 15-16% and touch 38,000 units by the end of the year, with Mercedes Benz sustaining its high double-digit growth rate.

(Image credits: Reuters)