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Mercedes-Maybach SUV concept: Vision Ultimate Luxury interior teased

Mercedes-Maybach posted a teaser video of what it calls "the ultimate in luxury" last week, saying that the featured, yet-to-be-named vehicle would be presented in the Beijing Motor Show. Now there's a teaser sketch giving us a wider look of the concept's interior, as well as a name. The concept also has a name by now: the Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury. We guess that might have been coming, even if the name isn't exactly concise. But, the accompanying release also informs us that the concept is a combination of a high-end sedan and an SUV, confirming that it is indeed the high-riding vehicle that's been rumored for a while. The interior sketch also shows a very wide center console with stylized grab handles, which suit the SUV dimensions and aesthetic, without being as trucklike as the Maybach G650 Landaulet's interior. As well as the lavish two-tone color scheme and the touch of wood on the door panel, the concept interior shows a wide color instrument display ahead of the driver. The gear selectors are paddle shifters next to the chunky steering wheel rim, and the controls seem to have been grouped on the wheel's spokes, leaving just a few switches on the dashboard. Autocar reports that the concept will be followed by a 2019 production version, slated to debut at the Los Angeles show at the end of this year. It would be based on the Mercedes-Benz GLS, but with a more bespoke design inside out, as hinted by the concept. Basing it on the GLS would mean Mercedes would be manufacturing it at the Tuscaloosa plant in Alabama, making it the first Maybach built in the U.S. Related Video: Image Credit: Mercedes-Maybach Beijing Motor Show Maybach Mercedes-Benz SUV Concept Cars Luxury mercedes-maybach

Mercedes-Benz working on S-Class EV in accelerated green car lineup?

With Mercedes-Benz bringing out coupe and plug-in hybrid versions of its S-Class sedan, the German automaker just may follow through with a battery-electric variant as well. That's what the company's Uwe Ernstberger told the folks at Top Gear during the Geneva Motor Show. And while he noted the company still needs to work in a larger-than-usual battery pack and was less than specific with details, he did envision an all-electric S-Class "in the future." Of course, rumors started bubbling about an EV S-Class as far back as 2011, so we'll see. Christian Bokich, department manager for product and technology communications for Mercedes-Benz USA, would not confirm anything about an electric S-Class, but he did give AutoblogGreen an official rundown of MB's upcoming green cars in the US, starting with the launch of the all-electric B-Class ED in July of this year in the ZEV states (launch details for other states are TBA, he said). An S-Class plug-in hybrid is coming in the first half of 2015, followed by a C-Class PHEV closer towards the end of that year in the USA. There is also a C-Class four-cylinder BlueTEC coming at some point in 2016. Until we get more concrete information about the possible S-Class EV, let's review what we know about the PHEV. Last September, Mercedes-Benz started showing off the plug-in hybrid S-Class, saying that it could go as far as 19 miles on electric power alone and had a preliminary fuel efficiency rating of more than 78 miles per gallon, using the more lenient European driving cycle. Earlier this week, Mercedes showed off its S-Class Coupe. That model's US version will have a twin-turbocharged V8 that kicks in 449 horsepower, a few more than the presumptive S-Class EV will have. Ernstberger also said Mercedes would join the ranks of automakers offering autonomous driving systems and mentioned the S-Class as being at the "top of the movement." He held his tongue when asked about the possibility of an S-Class cabriolet.

Mercedes has already booked 30k orders for new S-Class

When Toyota snags 30,000 Corolla orders over a three-month span, it's entirely possible we're in the midst of a global economic collapse and that the end is nigh. That's because the scale for Toyota is so very large. Mercedes-Benz, on the other hand, operates on a much smaller scale, particularly when we talk about its higher-end models, like the S-Class.
In 2012, Mercedes sold 65,000 of its flagship sedans in Germany and the EU. That's 178 units per day, for 365 days. Based on that, you can imagine the excitement at Stuttgart when it accepted 30,000 orders for the new S-Class in just three months. That's an average of 333 per day on a continent with a notoriously shaky economy. Now, admittedly, this enthusiasm could wane as the refitted S-Class becomes more common and Mercedes achieves market saturation in Europe's many chauffeur and livery services, but Mercedes isn't choosing to look at it that way.
"The new S-Class has already jumped back into the lead in terms of new vehicle registrations in Germany and its neighboring European countries," Mercedes-Benz head of sales and marketing, Ola Kaellenius, said in a statement last week.