The Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen might be seen as the dinosaur of the lineup to those with environmental leanings; but with it now due to go electric, that might not be the case for long.
Speaking at Germany’s Automobilwoche Kongress, Daimler CEO Ola Källenius revealed that the G is slated for electrification, likely making it one of the 10 electric cars that Mercedes-Benz plans to add to its lineup by 2025. By Källenius’ own admission, internal discussion of the G’s future recently appeared bleak:
#Daimler CEO Källenius: ”There will be a zero-emission #EV version of the #MercedesBenz G-Class. In the past there were discussions whether we should eliminate the model, the way I see things now I’d say the last Mercedes to be built will be a G-Class” #AMWKongress #eMobility pic.twitter.com/tAS6tzpR3Y
— Sascha Pallenberg 潘賞世 (@sascha_p) November 7, 2019
The public announcement suggests that development has either been green-lit or is already underway, likely in its earliest stages.
An all-electric G would likely fall under the new Mercedes-Benz EQ sub-brand, currently anchored by the EQC crossover. Mercedes has started to paint a picture of a fleshed-out EQ lineup, with an EQA and EQS apparently already in the works.
We got our first look at the Vision EQS in Frankfurt back in September. It suggested that the future Mercedes-Benz electric flagship will be a dual-motor BEV with 469 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque. Benz put its 0-60 time in the 4.5-second range, and based on European estimates, it would have a total range of between 375 and 400 miles.
A hypothetical EQG would likely make use of a similar system, perhaps even further distributing power to additional electric motors in order to improve single-wheel traction in off-road situations. So far, we don’t know much about the coming EQA aside from the fact that the compact variant of Daimler’s new global architecture was designed with electrification in mind.
The iconic G-Wagen won’t be something Mercedes-Benz will electrify just for the sake of doing it, so we don’t expect a rush job. When the time is right, we’ll see exactly what the future of luxury off-roading looks like.
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