In 2021, at the Munich Motor Show, Mercedes presented an electric concept car based on a G-Class. © Erick Fontaine / Lesnumériques
This should delight Arnold Schwarzenegger, a big fan of the Mercedes G-Class. Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, announced that the legendary vehicle would be available in a 100% electric version and “launched mid to late 2024“. This is what our colleagues from Autoblog report following a round table organized between Ola Källenius and journalists.
Proof of the existence of this electric G-Class, Ola Källenius confessed to the journalists present that he had taken a ride in a prototype in the fall of 2021, and that it had been “probably the most fun time of the year“. This test took place in Graz, Austria, where thermal G-Classes are usually tested. After this little escapade, Ola Källenius was apparently won over and convinced: “From now on the off-road is electric“.
This is a surprising turnaround, but reassuring for the aficionados of the G-Class. It should be remembered that in 2019, this same Ola Källenius declared that the last thermal combustion Mercedes manufactured would be a G-Class. The abandonment of the thermal and the transition to all-electric by 2030 were therefore prerequisites to save the G-Class trooper.
On the other hand, Ola Källenius could not say whether this future electric G-Class would adopt the electrical name “EQ”. If that were the case, the G-Class would then become EQG.
Last year, at the IAA show in Munich, Germany, Mercedes presented an electric concept car based on the G-Class. The latter had four electric motors placed near each wheel, resulting in a redesign of the rear axle.
On the other hand, no information concerning the battery has filtered, except on the chemistry used. For the occasion, we are talking about cells equipped with a silicon anode manufactured by the American company Sila Nanotechnologies. These have the advantage of providing 28% more power than graphite-based anodes.