German carmaker Daimler has ceased production of its Maybach super-luxury saloon, six months earlier than planned, writes Brian Byrne.
The dropping of the model was announced last year, with a plan to keep it going until the arrival of the next Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The company now says it built the last one at the end of June.
Originally devised as a challenger to BMW's Rolls-Royce and Volkswagen Group's Bentley, the car was named after engine designer Wilhelm Maybach who worked with Gottlieb Daimler in the 1890s. The original Maybach premium brand was launched during the 1920s.
Daimler launched their car in 2002, in 5.7-metre and 6.2-metre lengths, giving them the suffixes 57 and 62.
It was never successful, and failed to ever reach the original target of 1,000 copies a year. Only 46 were sold last year.
The car was built on the same line as the M-B S-Class and CLS.
