Mercedes-Benz V-Class will receive a luxury Maybach version in the next generation

According to insiders, the Mercedes-Maybach V-Class will appear no later than 2028, it will be a global model, but the main market for it will be China, where luxury minivans are in high demand today.

The current Mercedes-Maybach V-Class entered the market in 2014, last year it underwent a second restyling and can be produced in this form for quite a long time, because Mercedes-Benz has recently sharply pessimized its electric vehicle plans and extended the life cycles of “hydrocarbon” models.

In May last year, as the global slowdown in demand for electric vehicles was just beginning to show persistent symptoms, Mercedes-Benz first revealed the VAN.EA modular platform, designed for a new generation of light commercial electric vehicles, which will be used to build large and mid-size vans, as well as passenger minivans . The first production models on the VAN.EA platform will be released in 2026.

In the same May presentation, Mercedes-Benz announced that it was preparing some kind of luxury electric van, intended mainly for the Chinese and US markets, but the name Maybach was not mentioned in connection with it. This week, the German newspaper Handelsblatt, citing insiders, reported that the luxury van will be sold under the Mercedes-Maybach sub-brand and will enter the market no later than 2028.

Current Mercedes-Maybach V-Class 1/6 Current Mercedes-Maybach V-Class 2/6 Current Mercedes-Maybach V-Class 3/6 Current Mercedes-Maybach V-Class 4/6 Current Mercedes-Maybach V-Class 5/6 Current Mercedes-Maybach V-Class 6/6

China today is the main consumer of minivans in the world, including luxury ones. Many wealthy businessmen prefer to drive minivans because of the spacious interior, ease of entry and exit, and the ability to organize negotiations directly on board. Several independent companies are already offering various luxury versions of the V-Class, and it’s even a little strange that Mercedes-Benz itself is not doing the same within the existing generation of the model, so the factory Mercedes-Maybach V-Class will have to wait until about 2028.

The VAN.EA platform is stated to be fully electric, which somewhat limits the market potential of the models planned on it. The base drive will be front-wheel drive, but the Mercedes-Maybach V-Class will most likely receive a dual-engine power plant and, accordingly, all-wheel drive, the expected range on one charge is at least 500 km.

Add that Mercedes-Benz passenger cars are now losing ground in China: in the first quarter of this year, according to the company itself, 168,900 cars were sold, which is 12% less than sales in January-March 2023. Global sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars during the same period fell by 8% to 463,000 units, of which electric vehicles accounted for 47,500 units. (-8%).

Meanwhile, the Mercedes-Benz Vans light commercial vehicle division, on the contrary, pleases the company's management and shareholders with success: global sales in the first quarter of 2024 increased by 7% to 105,400 vehicles , of which 7,700 were absorbed by the Chinese market (an increase of 27% compared to sales in January-March 2023).