"Our engineers like to be challenged. We gave them a big challenge. We said, 'Look, take this car, which looks old, but it's not old, and make it electric,'" said Mercedes-Benz USA President and CEO Dimitris Psillakis.
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The 2025 G 580 is not a hybrid nor plug-in hybrid. It's a full-on battery electric, but it keeps the distinctive burly profile the G-Class has always shown off. For those who prefer for their vehicles to run on gasoline do not worry, there will be three different choices for buyers to select.
"It is coming in three versions. The famous G 550, the more famous and more noisy G 63, and then the very quiet G 580," Psillakis noted.
All the specifics for the G-Wagon EV are still not available, as it does not go on sale until the second half of the year. However, Mercedes has confirmed that it will carry a large 116-killowatt-hour battery inside a sturdy ladder frame, powering four electric motors, one for each wheel.
It may be electric, but it still promises to be a very tough electric.
From the very beginning in 1979, the G-Class has always been extremely off-road capable by design and will continue with the electric version. Perhaps even more capable when driving gets rough.
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"It has four independent motors. Each wheel is independently controlled. It has the extreme capabilities in your hands," said Psillakis.
Around Southern California, all-terrain vehicles never seem to leave the pavement, but the capability is there, just in case. It's another part of Mercedes-Benz: continually adding to its EV product line, especially poignant in the EV-friendly Golden State.
"California is our top market for the G-Class. You see it everywhere, basically," said Psillakis.
Driving range and sticker price are both still forthcoming, but safe to say the new battery-powered G-Class is almost certain to become a status symbol among status symbols around Southern California.