Mercedes Maybach Vision Ultimate Luxury high-riding sedan axed

The Mercedes-Maybach Vision Ultimate Luxury will not make it to production, reports German business newspaper Handelsblatt. The luxury brand has axed the part sedan, part SUV that was first unveiled in 2018, and was meant to be Maybach’s answer to the likes of the Bentley Bentayga and Rolls-Royce Cullinan.

1. Maybach’s high-riding sedan too expensive to make
2. Meant to be a China-specific model
3. Massive luxury EV had four electric motors making a total of 750hp

The Vision Ultimate Luxury concept has either been abandoned or been put on hold indefinitely, three insiders have told Handelsblatt. The decision was made a few months ago, meaning the production version will not come into being, despite plans to have the model on sale in China sometime next year. It was supposed to be built exclusively in Beijing on the EVA2 platform, which is used by the EQE, EQE SUV, EQS and EQS SUV.

Reportedly, Mercedes admitted that the development of what the brand calls the SUS (Sports Utility Sedan) is on a hiatus because the car is too complex and expensive to build. Merc claims it has plenty of EVs on sale in China to cover all the important segments: “In order to reduce complexity, we have therefore decided not to continue the project of a China-specific additional vehicle based on the EVA2 architecture for the time being.”

Mercedes Maybach Vision Ultimate Luxury concept

When the massive SUV concept was revealed, it came with four electric motors – one on each wheel to simulate fully variable four-wheel drive– that made a combined 750hp. It was powered by an 80kWh battery pack that was said to have a range of around 500km. It boasted of massive 24-inch wheels, a length over 5.3 metres and, of course, the high-riding sedan silhouette.

Mercedes-Maybach in India

Currently, Mercedes’ ultra luxury sub-brand has two models on sale in the country – the S-Class and the GLS, priced from Rs 2.72 crore and Rs 2.96 crore, respectively. In fact, the GLS Maybach has been pulling in more buyers than expected, with Santosh Iyer, MD and CEO of Mercedes India, saying, "A lot of the pull for the new GLS comes from the Maybach GLS.”

All prices, ex-showroom, India