Mercedes denies Maybach sale

Mercedes has been forced to deny rumours in China that it would sell Maybach to BYD, an ambitious Chinese car manufacturer with a background in batteries.

The Chinese media has been full of the story, apparently – but it certainly seems unlikely. The Maybach already looks like a cheap Chinese copy of a western luxury car, so why would they bother buying the expensive original? For its part, Mercedes would find it humiliating to offload its expensive folly and thereby admit that the whole Maybach idea was completely misconceived.

It is generally felt in the industry that the only reason Maybach continues to exist is that Mercedes would find it too embarrassing to close the business.