Mercedes-Benz will launch a battery-electric version of the iconic G-Class in 2024, the automaker said on Thursday.
Confirmation of the electric G-Class, which could go by the name EQG, was made during a presentation outlining Mercedes’ plans to transition to a full-electric brand by 2030. Yes, get ready to say goodbye to internal-combustion engines at Mercedes-Benz, including at Mercedes-Benz AMG.
Mercedes CEO Ola Kaellenius first mentioned plans for an electric G-Class in 2019. At the time, he said Mercedes had looked at discontinuing the G-Class, but he felt that the last Mercedes to be built should be a G-Class.
But why the long gestation? The big and blocky G-Class will require a substantial kilowatt-hour rating and Mercedes may want to wait until battery technology improves. It isn’t clear whether Mercedes will electrify the G-Class platform, or install the G-Class body on one of its electric platforms.
A plug-in hybrid G-Class is likely to eventuate before the electric version, and it could come with an AMG badge attached. AMG plans to introduce plug-in hybrid technology across its range before switching to a full-electric lineup, and the Affalterbach tuner is known to be readying a powerful setup incorporating a V-8. This setup debuts shortly in the GT 4-Door Coupe and will offer more than 800 hp.
Note, if you want an electric G-Class today, there’s a company in Austria by the name of Kreisel that offers an electric conversion, though so far the company has only shown converted versions of the previous-generation G-Class. Kreisel’s setup features an 80-kwh battery and an electric motor at each axle for a combined 482 hp. One of the first people to take up Kreisel’s G-Class electric conversion was Arnold Schwarzenegger.