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Daimler-Benz to Build Mercedes-Benz Maybach

30 July 1998

Daimler-Benz to Build Mercedes-Benz Maybach; Super-Luxury Limousine Also Will Be Sold in the U.S. Market

     MONTVALE, N.J., July 29 -- Following a decision by Daimler-
Benz AG to develop and produce the Mercedes-Benz Maybach, Mercedes-Benz of
North America has announced that it will Offer the super-luxury limousine
beginning around 2003, when several hundred vehicles annually are expected to
be offered through U.S. Mercedes-Benz dealers.  Other major markets for the
new limousine will be in Europe and Asia, including Japan.  Shown recently at
major auto shows in concept car form, the Mercedes-Benz Maybach will be
produced at the Daimler-Benz plant in Sindelfingen, near Stuttgart.
    Juergen E. Schrempp, chairman of the DBAG board of management, said, "By
deciding in favor of building the Mercedes-Benz Maybach, we are once again
underlining our claim of representing the absolute 'creme-de-la-creme' in all
segments.  The Mercedes-Benz Maybach will be a masterwork of automotive
technology, setting ultimate standards in luxury features and engineering."
    The Mercedes-Benz Maybach continues the long-standing Daimler-Benz
tradition of manufacturing special Mercedes-Benz vehicles for very small
market segments.  The new car is named after designer Wilhelm Maybach
(1846-1929), a long-time colleague of Gottlieb Daimler and one of Germany's
most famous automobile designers, who was inducted into the Automotive Hall of
Fame last year for his achievements.
    Professor Juergen Hubbert, DBAG board member in charge of passenger cars,
said, "Like the Maybach cars of the 1930s, and the Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman
of the early 1980s, the Mercedes-Benz Maybach will be individually built for
each customer in a very small and very exclusive series."
    Professor Hubbert also emphasized that, as with the classic 600 model, the
new Maybach will not affect the premium market position of the S-Class line:
"The Mercedes-Benz Maybach will complement rather than compete with our
existing model ranges, adding an intriguing vehicle, opening an additional
market segment and appealing to a special group of high-end customers."