Mercedes-Benz teases a smaller, cheaper G-Wagon luxury EV

Mercedes-Benz is developing a more budget-friendly sibling to its hotly-anticipated G-Class all-electric SUV, as originally reported by Electrek. The EV will be a smaller, cheaper version of its iconic G-Wagon and it was confirmed this weekend at IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich. CEO Ola Kallenius said the “baby” G-Class EV will be significantly more compact than its cousin and that it’ll be “fun to drive.”

This model is a spinoff from the G-Class EQG concept first unveiled at IAA Mobility 2021. The German newspaper Automobilwochereports that the company has been planning a smaller all-electric G-Wagon for several years, and suggests that the variant could go by the name “g-Class” with a purposeful lowercase “g.” Kallenius told CNBCthat he views the vehicle as the "daughter or son of the big-G."

Details are scarce, but it’ll be based on a purely electric powertrain and should feature all-wheel drive, especially with Kallenius’s assurance that it’ll be fun to drive. As for the promise of a cheaper G-Class vehicle, a new Mercedes G-Class SUV starts at $140,000, so it won’t be difficult to get in at a lower price point than that. However, if the company wants mass market adoption, a slight price cut to the $100k to $120k range likely won’t do the trick. Actual pricing remains a mystery.

We still have a long while to wait before getting behind the wheel of this diminutive wonder. The vehicle’s powertrain is likely based on the forthcoming MB.EA platform, a proprietary battery technology Mercedes is developing. This platform isn't likely to show up in vehicles until 2025, which places the release of the smaller, cheaper G-Class EV in 2026 at the earliest.

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