We have seen and heard of the most unusual things that have happened in the auto industry. We have seen
Tata Motors buying loss maker
Jaguar Land Rover unit from Ford Motors to spin out some quality products to find a place in the hearts of car connoisseur and churning out huge profits in the process as well. We have also seen
GM crumble from top spot in the U.S automobile market during recession that made it sell three of its top brands and phasing out a couple of brands altogether.
We have come across the mighty Japanese known for their technological prowess come to their knees when they
recalled their cars citing life-threatening technical problems (Read Toyota, Honda and Nissan). Then we have also seen lesser known car companies like that of Spykar and
Geely buying more prominent car brands like Saab and Volvo paying exorbitant sum of money to the amazement of other global car companies hit by global recession.
But this story below can put every other unusual car related topics to shame. Imagine a newly cropped up
Chinese electric car company called BYD showing interest in buying the legendary Maybach brand itself from the mighty German owners Daimler who also own Mercedes-Benz. Cannot believe your eyes? Believe it.
In a so called rumor that’s doing rounds in the internet circles which was originally started by China’s largest auto-related websites called auto.sina.com, BYD, the electric car maker from China is interested in acquiring the
Maybach brand from Mercedes-Benz within the next few years.
The site reported that an undisclosed official from BYD confirmed the company’s interest in Maybach. The source stated that BYD would "launch the acquisition" when Mercedes finalizes its decision to end the Maybach nameplate.
Mercedes and BYD have already joined forces in an effort to market electric vehicles in China, so the companies have a working relationship, but whether or not this relationship translates into the acquisition of Maybach is unknown. It seems unlikely that Mercedes would hand over the Maybach nameplate to another company, but it just might happen. BYD's expansion efforts have been strong and luxury cars such as the Zeppelin, pictured above, tend to sell well in foreign markets so it could be a fit for BYD. For now, we will just have to wait it out and see what develops.
Daimler which heads the luxury German brands such as
Mercedes-Benz and Maybach, in a bid to save its face, desperately pleaded that the rumors were false.
Daimler states that Maybach is slow-selling as they could sell just 200 cars last year. They also admitted that the Maybach brand had failed to reach and achieve the appeal of the established classic ultra-luxury brands like
Bentley and
Rolls Royce, but it’s still important to Daimler and stressed the point that the brand was not for sale.
A Daimler spokesman told Reuters that there is no truth to the recent speculation that Maybach could be sold to Chinese automotive firm BYD. In the meanwhile, BYD also denied the claims, according to the report; with a spokesman conferring with company chairman Wang Chuanfu to reach the conclusion the whole thing is merely speculation. BYD and Daimler are, however, cooperating on electric cars for the Chinese market.
Maybach’s sale is speculation that may eventually bear fruit, however, as the brand’s product lineup is stale–though due for an update soon, according to leaked patent images–and its tiny sales figures haven’t shown any signs of growing even as Rolls-Royce is nearly doubling production plans thanks to the new, smaller Ghost sedan. Bentley is also bustling with product news, primarily its somewhat controversial plans to go green with the addition of flex-fuel capability to its
entire Continental range by 2012.
The Beijing International Auto Show is at its peak now and car manufacturers are unveiling their models one after the other. The latest one to impress the audiences is the Chinese car maker, Geely. Yes, you guessed it right. It is the same company that has been hogging the limelight for quite some time with the purchase of Ford’s Volvo unit.
Geely has been a fairly good player in its native market. But the international credibility of the company never came to the front. But the acquisition of Volvo has certainly slotted Geely amongst the top guns of the industry. And with the unveiling of the Emgrand GT coupe, Geely is trying make its presence known as a top-flight player in the industry.
