Opinion / Can Mercedes-Benz really call itself ‘haute voiture’? G-Wagons may be the SUV of choice for rich millennials, but BMW, Audi and Porsche are in the race against the luxury carmaker too …

Aug 15 , 2022

Workers inspect newly assembled cars at a Beijing Benz Automotive Co. Ltd factory, a German joint venture company for Mercedes-Benz, in Beijing, in May 2020. Photo: AP Photo

Sotheby’s recently auctioned a 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe for the most ever paid for a car while the S-Class, Maybach and AMG badges are in-demand

Concept cars include the electric Vision EQXX, Mercedes-Maybach Vision 6 and Virgil Abloh’s Project Maybach – but the brand needs more limited editions and a better showroom experience

This article is part of STYLE’s Inside Luxury column

Mercedes-Benz is back! I have been pleased to see the progress of the brand over the last two years. It has become much bolder, playing up its history, while moving forcefully into the future. I wrote in this column previously that, in my view, the Vision EQXX may be the company’s most important car ever because it’s not just an electric Mercedes, but a truly innovative take on the future of cars.

The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX concept car has an ultra-low drag coefficient of 0.17. Photo: Mercedes-Benz

In a recent Sotheby’s auction, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, one of only two ever made, fetched €135 million (US$138 million), the highest sum ever paid for an automobile, putting a car on a par with a mega-yacht or the rarest paintings for the first time.

Years ago when I developed the Luxury Index pricing tool, I was able to forecast massive value increase opportunities in cars – both new and vintage ones – and the fact that Mercedes now crowns automotive value creation ahead of vintage Rolls-Royces and Ferraris underlines the intrinsic power that the brand has created over decades.

In May, Sotheby’s sold a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, one of only two such versions in existence, for €135 million (US$138 million), making it the most expensive car ever sold. Photo: AFP

Consequently, in the last few months, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius announced a pivot to positioning his brand as “haute voiture”, paying homage to the most luxurious fashion brands. With this move, Mercedes will not just be a car brand, but a luxury house that delivers extreme client value, pushes the envelope of possibilities and creates desirability.

The push will put the S-Class, Maybach and AMG closer to the brand’s centre, as well as the iconic G-Wagon, a car in astronomical demand with long waiting times in markets like the US, where people are willing to pay thousands of dollars above the asking price just to get hold of one.

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class is in high demand in the US and elsewhere, where it is the SUV of choice for the young and affluent. Source: Daimler AG

When I visited Casa Cipriani in New York recently, one of the cities’ most exclusive private membership clubs, there were 10-15 G-Wagons parked at the entrance, indicating how popular it is among the young and affluent.