Maybach (German: Maybach) and Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH were a German ultra-luxury automobile brand and manufacturer active in Europe from 1921 to 1940.

The company’s founder, Karl Maybach, was the son of Wilhelm Maybach, who had served as Chief Technical Director at Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (the predecessor of today’s Daimler Group), establishing a deep historical connection between the two companies. In 1997, the DaimlerChrysler Group unveiled a Maybach-branded ultra-luxury four-door concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show, officially reviving the German automotive brand after it had been dormant for many years.

However, due to poor market performance, production of the Maybach series was completely discontinued in 2013. On November 19, 2014, Mercedes-Benz officially launched its new sub-brand, Mercedes-Maybach, in Guangzhou, and simultaneously unveiled the brand’s first model, the Maybach S-Class, in a global premiere.

On February 9, 1846, Wilhelm Maybach was born in Heilbronn, Germany. He had four siblings, and the family later moved to Stuttgart. When Wilhelm Maybach was 10 years old, both his parents passed away, leaving the young boy an orphan. Fortunately, when Wilhelm Maybach was facing hardship, a charitable organization saw an adoption notice in the *Stuttgarter Anzeiger* and agreed to take him in. While attending the Reutlinger Bruderhaus and studying under Gustav Werner, the school’s founder and director recognized Wilhelm Maybach’s technical talent and nurtured it, laying a solid foundation for his future development.

In 1865, in the small town of Reutlingen, Wilhelm Maybach met Gottlieb Daimler—known as the “father of the automobile”—for the first time in the Bruderhaus workshop. At just 19 years old, Wilhelm Maybach quickly caught Daimler’s attention with his extraordinary talent for drafting. Shared interests and hobbies built a bridge of friendship between Wilhelm Maybach and Gottlieb Daimler, and the two became close and inseparable friends.

In 1869, Wilhelm Maybach accepted Daimler’s invitation to join Gasmotorenfabrik Deutz as a technical draftsman. In 1872, Daimler joined the Gasmotorenfabrik founded by Nikolaus Otto as technical director. While work on the four-stroke engine began at Otto’s factory, the 27-year-old Maybach was appointed head of the design department.