McLaren and Maybach sit at the very pinnacle of the Mercedes-Benz portfolio, yet their respective futures remain unclear. Indeed, rumours continue to surface that Mercedes will bring to an end its road car partnership with McLaren and that in-house uber-luxury brand Maybach may be for the chop.
Mercedes-Benz chief Dr Dieter Zetsche went some way to confirm Maybach's future during his recent visit Down Under but was less emphatic on the direction of the Mercedes-McLaren relationship.
Zetsche explained the company is still looking at ways of freshening its current Maybach line-up, but was yet to decide on new models per se.
"We have proven latest with the Laundaulet that we continue to have ideas in this segment. [However] We have not made a decision yet, like our competitors [Ed: BMW-owned Rolls Royce] to expand the brand downwards, into the, lets say, 200,000 euro category -- which is obviously much larger [in terms of volume].
"If and with what type of cars, other than with AMGs, we would address this segment -- it's [the discussion] still open... It could be with Mercedes; could be with Maybach; could be in a different way," Zetsche opined.
"At this point of time Maybach is current; it's part of the top luxury segment which is very small in volume altogether; they [the brand] are doing fine," he said.
Another Maybach model was "a very likely scenario", he said.
"There are specifics about the future portfolio that have not been decided, thereby are not published yet," he offered.
In terms of the future of new road cars from Mclaren, the problem is one of a cohesive strategy among the company's shareholders, Zetsche says.
Daimler is the largest shareholder of the company. F1 team chief and figurehead Ron Dennis owns 15 per cent, as does Mansour Ojjeh's TAG Group. The second largest shareholder is Bahraini holding company, Mumtalakat, which owns 30 per cent.
"Obviously there are four shareholders, the two original ones -- Mansour Ojjeh and Ron Dennis -- plus the Bahrainis, plus us. We are the larger shareholders and we are looking for mutual strategy among the shareholders to address those questions [plans for future road cars]," Zetsche explained.
"We are not there yet, but we have constructive talks to achieve that.
"Ultimately you cannot be successful if you do not have alignment between the shareholders. There were some different priorities, let's say, which we are trying to sort out. I'm confident that we will get there," Zetsche opined.
The links between the future of Maybach and the demise of McLaren may be closer than is first apparent, however.
'Project Alligator', a rumoured alliance between Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz, is claimed by insiders to be under discussion in the very highest circles at Daimler AG. The collaboration would see the recently independent British sportscar builder benefit from Benz powertrain and other technology, with Mercedes gaining access to Aston's flexible modular platform architecture.
Were it to coalesce, such a relationship could allow Maybach and other Mercedes offshoots, such as AMG, to build smaller volume bespoke vehicles -- and not just sportscars -- much more cost effectively. This is exactly the sort of ground McLaren once inhabited in the Mercedes-Benz world.
For the moment, however, Zetsche has just one priority for McLaren.
"For us the number one, number two and number three priority with McLaren is running and winning [F1] races and that's what we're doing pretty well right now, but that might change from race to race..."
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