Custom craziness in store for 'Benz owners.

Mercedes-Benz has gradually been broadening its designo Manufaktur business, since 2015.

Originally intended to give only the wealthiest Mercedes G-Class customers even more exclusive customisation options, designo Manufaktur is now available on more trim levels than ever before.

A team of seamstresses, leatherworkers and paint experts combine to build vehicles worthy of the designo Manufaktur name. The promise from Mercedes is simple: its designo Manufaktur vehicles are tailored to customer preferences, like no other.

Bold colours have always been a feature of the designo Manufaktur offering and Mercedes is now going all-in, promising to paint your vehicle in any finish you wish. And by ‘any’, Mercedes is not indulging in obtuse marketing.

Customers can trawl through Mercedes-Benz’s own design history to make a choice, meaning that your great grandfather’s 1950s Ponton colour, could be applied to a new AMG. The attached AMG S63 cabriolet gallery shows what can be done with Mercedes-Benz's classic deep green, a colour from decades ago.

An even more radical outcome is ordering your new Mercedes in a rival manufacturer’s colour.

Mercedes-Benz will now effectively paint your new vehicle any colour you wish, even if it is from the Audi or BMW colour chart. Although this option is subject to paint availability (a smart caveat by Mercedes), it is sure to court some controversy and create doubt for confident car-spotters, as specific model lines and production years, will no longer correspond strictly to colour.

In a time when the automotive industry is under pressure, Mercedes-Benz is responding by offering its customers a greater diversity of choice and individualization.

Expanding the designo Manufaktur programme might irk some G-Class owners, who valued the exclusivity of their boldly coloured vehicles. The truth is that it generates strong demand and revenue – with designo Manufaktur orders increasing by 200% this year, even in pressurized economic conditions. Something Mercedes-Benz desperately needs.

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