Mercedes to Decide on Maybach Future on July 1st

Mercedes Benz will make an official decision regarding the Maybach luxury brand as early as the beginning of next month. They could decide to relaunch the brand with help from Aston, or to close it for good.

"There is a higher likelihood to come to a positive decision" for a second-generation Maybach if a partner is involved, Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche told to Automotive News.

Aston Martin has long been rumored as the most likely candidate for a tie-up in projects ranging from chassis to engines and transmissions. But why would the British carmaker want to tie the knot with the stricken German brand? To get access to Daimler's stable of engines, of course.

Despite having some of the most potent mills on the market at present, Aston is in need of newer, more efficient, and less expensive engines for its future vehicles. Engineering and building them itself could be prohibitively expensive, and Daimler has everything from diesels to hybrids. Also note that Aston is likely to launch the Lagonda brand with the help of a crossover that’s based on the recently launched M-Klasse or next generation GL-Klasse.

At the same time, should the bid to rebuild the Maybach brand prove successful, Aston's position could be further strengthened is it strives to rise above 6,000 annual sales for 2010.

It’s not all rumors and speculation, as Zetsche has stated the concept for the next Maybach is ready right now. He also reportedly admitted that it was an error for Daimler to spend $1 billion on the development of Maybach and that "it was not a good investment for a small-volume vehicle."

Small volume? Try miniscule, as Maybach only sold 157 cars last year!