The company first built an experimental car in 1919, introduced as a production model two years later at the Berlin Motor Show.

In 1938, in conjunction with Dr Henry Merritt, they produced a gearbox and steering system – the 'Merritt-Maybach' – for the abortive Nuffield A.16E1 Cruiser tank design.

After WWII, the factory performed some repair work, but automotive production was never restarted, and some 20 years later, the company was renamed MTU Friedrichshafen.

Post-1960, the company was mainly used to make special editions of Mercedes cars in the W108 and W116 model range, which were virtually hand built.

In 2005 the 57S was added, powered by a 6.0 L V12 bi-turbo engine producing 450 kW (603 hp) and 1,000 N⋅m (738 lbf⋅ft) of torque, and featuring various cosmetic touches.

[5] Initially, Daimler-Chrysler predicted annual sales of 2,000 worldwide with 50 percent coming from the United States; however, these expectations never materialized.

An article in Fortune noted that Mercedes had missed out on the chance to purchase Rolls-Royce and Bentley when they were up for sale in the 1990s: "Mercedes backpedaled and decided it needed to be in the ultra-luxury business too, but it went after it in a remarkably clumsy way.It further stated that the first Maybach models had poor driving dynamics compared to its contemporaries from Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

Mercedes took an aging S-class chassis and plopped an absurdly elongated body on it ... rather than develop a new car from the wheels up, as BMW did with Rolls-Royce, or cleverly use the underpinnings of an existing model like the Volkswagen Phaeton for a new Bentley.

While all three ultra-luxury marques share platforms and engines with other luxury brands from their parent auto company, Maybachs are built alongside the Mercedes-Benz S-Class flagship sedan, whereas Rolls-Royce and Bentley are assembled in England (separate from the rest of BMW and Volkswagen Group's respective production plants), and thus are regarded as being more "exclusive".

[16] In November 2011, Daimler's CEO Dieter Zetsche announced that the Maybach-brand would cease to exist in 2012, making room for other models of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

An executive told a Frankfurt newspaper that "Daimler came to the conclusion that the sales chances for the Mercedes brand were better than that of Maybach.

[27] The base car has several colour finish options and the choice between a three-seat rear bench, or two seats reclining.

Daimler announced in November 2020 that it planned to double its Maybach sales, based on strong Chinese demand, where the car is used as a limousine.