Mercedes-Benz EQG shock: G-Wagen goes EV with 4WD concept

September 6, 2021September 17, 2021 John Carey 3831 Views eq, Mercedes-Benz

The Mercedes-Benz that’s barely changed since 1979, the G-Class, is set to go EV within three years.

Promised years ago, the all-electric version of the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen is officially the Concept EQG that has been revealed at the 2021 Munich IAA motor show as a “a near-production study of an all-electric G-Class”.

The Concept EQG changes everything about the G-Wagen except the slabby, square-edged style of the off-road classic that is known as one of the most capable four-wheel drives ever created.

The main visual change is the adoption of the Mercedes-EQ grille to differentiate the EQG from regular G-Wagens.

Mercedes-Benz Concept EQG is near-production ready ahead of a 2024 planned on-sale, complete with four electric motors

“We’re travelling into the future with the new EQG,” says Mercedes-Benz design boss Gorden Wagener. “This car epitomises the fusion of state-of-the-art off-road capabilities with the dawn of electric mobility that we all need to strive for.”

Having committed to a line-up consisting only of EVs by 2030, Mercedes-Benz says the Concept EQG is about authenticity and showcasing what can be done with electricity. The company describes it as “simply the logical next step” and “an absolutely fascinating project”.

Importantly, it’s also about convincing the G-Wagen customers – so many of which whom love the V8 noises rumbling from side-exit exhausts of the G63 AMG – that the EQG is the future.

“We want to inspire our customers to switch to electric mobility with convincing products,” said Markus Schäfer, COO of Mercedes-Benz. “An icon like the G-Class fulfils this task perfectly.”

Production of the G-Wagen EV – to be called the EQG – is planned to begin in 2024.

Switching to electric propulsion won’t affect off-road ability for the G-Wagen, it’s promised. The EQG will roll on a platform specifically designed to go where few other vehicles can.

It will have four electric motors, one for each wheel. Mercedes-Benz’s latest road-going EVs instead have, at most, two motors, one for each axle.

Those motors will apparently drive through a two-speed gearbox, to give the EQG the same kind of crawling ability as low-range gearing in the current G-Class.

Mercedes-Benz says the EQG will be designed to cover the iconic Schöckl mountain test track in Graz, where all G-Wagens are manufactured. The 5.6-kilometre track has gradients up to 60 degrees.

Many brands have already said that EVs will be more capable off-road than ICE vehicles.

And the EQG will have a tough-as-nails ladder frame, too. In the EQG this will integrate the vehicle’s battery pack. The suspension is likewise traditional; independent at the front and rigid at the rear.

The Concept EQG doesn’t have a spare wheel. There’s a box mounted on the outside of its tailgate instead and it looks like a wallbox charger – except it’s for storing charging cables.

Design cheif Wagener says the EQG maintains the essence of the G-Wagen but in a modern EV context.

“It stands for our relentless pursuit of the utmost desire and luxury. For us, the most important thing was to keep the full G-Class DNA but beam it into the EQ age: Like the G-Class but different.”

John Carey

Grew up in country NSW, way back when petrol was laced with lead. Has written about cars and the car business for more than 35 years, working full-time and freelance for leading mags, major newspapers and websites in Australia and (sometimes) overseas. Avidly interested in core EV technologies like motors and batteries, and believes the switch to electromobility definitely should be encouraged. Is waiting patiently for someone to make a good and affordable EV that will fit inside his tiny underground garage in northern Italy, where he's lived for the past decade. Likes the BMW i3, but it's just too damned wide...