
Bloomberg/Giulia Marchi
Mercedes-Benz is introducing a vehicle that combines the luxury features of its flagship S-Class sedan with the GLS full-size SUV as part of a push to increase profits through sales of upscale cars, reported Bloomberg.
Mercedes-Maybach said that the GLS 600 will hit showrooms in H2 2020. The vehicle is made at Daimler’s US factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and powered by a V8 engine including a 48-volt hybrid system to deliver a total 558 horsepower.
Martin Huelder, the Director of Product Management at Mercedes-Maybach, said, “The worldwide success of SUVs has changed the standards and habits of car buyers, the brand’s customers usually own several different vehicles and if they drive an SUV we want them to drive a Mercedes-Maybach.”
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings became the latest entrant in the popular segment this week with the $189,000 DBX that is critical for the British marque’s strategy.
The world’s largest luxury carmaker culled standalone Maybach cars from its lineup because of weak demand for the hulking sedans and instead started putting the nameplate on versions of the high-margin S-Class sedan in 2014.
The move resonated with customers, especially in the Chinese market, the brand’s largest sales region. More than 45,000 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class have been sold since 2015 and demand surged to a record last year. About one in seven S-Class models delivered in 2018 was a Maybach.
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