The Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen has been around since 1979, and it had defined the term “SUV” way before anyone knew what a sport-utility vehicle actually was. Initially developed for the military—and still used by many armed forces around the world today—this model eventually spawned a civilian version that quickly found favor with buyers everywhere. These days, the G-Class has become a status symbol for soccer moms and A-list celebrities, its boxy shape a familiar sight on roads around the globe. But with big-engined gas-guzzlers increasingly becoming the target of Greta Thunberg environmentalists, even the mighty G has to try and become greener. To do this, Mercedes has just confirmed that everyone’s favorite statement on wheels will soon be turned into an electric car.
The news of a future G-Class powered by batteries was recently revealed by Sascha Pallenberg, Daimler’s head of Digital Transformation. The executive tweeted a quote from company chairman Ola Källenius:
There will be a zero-emission EV version of the Mercedes-Benz 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.
Källenius had revealed his plan at Automobilwoche Kongress in Berlin, and it seems he’s not planning to wait very long with the development of the Green G.
Related to this, posted on the Daimler AG careers website is a job opening for a development engineer for the electric engine hardware of the G-Class, leaving little doubt that it’s full steam ahead for the project. The job ad is fairly new, which means that even if they find the perfect engineering team tomorrow, we will likely have to wait a couple of years (or maybe even longer) before a silent G is unleashed upon us. Who cares? As long as our favorite SUV is here to stay, we’re good.
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