{"id":18133,"date":"2026-05-21T07:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T07:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/18133\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T07:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T07:01:09","slug":"america-convinced-mercedes-to-make-a-small-g-class-with-gas-engines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/18133\/","title":{"rendered":"America Convinced Mercedes To Make A Small G-Class With Gas Engines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mercedes had planned to sell the smaller G-Class exclusively as an EV.
\nDealers in the United States insisted it should have gas engines as well.
\nUneven EV adoption was also a contributing factor.<\/p>\n

With nearly 50,000 units sold in 2025, the venerable G-Class had its best year<\/a> since the reputable off-roader came out in the late 1970s. Mercedes is now preparing to capitalize on the Gel\u00e4ndewagen\u2019s commercial success with a so-called \u201cLittle G\u201d designed to capture the essence of its bigger brother in a more compact package and at a lower price point.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a long time coming. The German luxury brand first teased<\/a> the model nearly three years ago. More recently, a camouflaged prototype was spotted near the N\u00fcrburgring looking exactly as you\u2019d expect: like a 75-percent-scale version of the full-fat G. While the test vehicle was purely electric, Mercedes has now confirmed there will also be a combustion engine under the hood.<\/p>\n

The company initially planned to sell the boxy SUV exclusively as an EV but changed course for a couple of reasons. When dealers in the United States got a sneak preview of the smaller G-Class<\/a>, they asked whether ICE versions could also be offered. U.S. retailers ultimately played an active role in convincing Mercedes to add gas engines to the lineup.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/
\nMercedes Is Giving Dealers What They Want<\/p>\n

Speaking to Automotive News<\/a>, Mercedes-AMG CEO Michael Schiebe confirmed dealers in North America were a determining factor in the decision to develop a combustion-engine version:<\/p>\n

‘The clear feedback from our U.S. dealers, which we from time to time also asked, was we need an ICE version. We said \u2018Yes, Ok. Let\u2019s put an ICE version in there.\u2019 It needs to have enough power, and it will definitely happen.’<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s more to the story. Mercedes<\/a> realized uneven EV adoption could make the baby G-Class less appealing in parts of the world where charging infrastructure remains underdeveloped. For prospective customers concerned about range anxiety, the gas-powered model will eliminate worries about running out of juice.<\/p>\n

While Mercedes has refrained from going into specifics about the downsized G, the company\u2019s head honcho has said it will be a \u201ccompletely new development.\u201d That statement suggests it won\u2019t use the existing G-Class architecture, nor will it be based on the new CLA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Photos by: Mercedes-Benz<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Photos by: Mercedes-Benz<\/p>\n

It Will Be A Proper G-Class<\/p>\n

Former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Markus Sch\u00e4fer said it would be \u201cas authentic as possible,\u201d leading us to believe it\u2019ll feature a ladder-frame setup with genuine off-road capability. Rumor has it the new G-Class variant will measure around 173.2 inches (4.4 meters) long, while the prototype also reveals it will retain a rear-mounted spare wheel.<\/p>\n

The smaller G-Class is expected to go on sale sometime next year, although it remains unclear whether the gas model will be available from day one. Since the ICE version seems to be an afterthought, Mercedes could launch the EV first and add the combustion-powered derivative later.<\/p>\n

\"small-mercedes-g-class-teaser\" <\/a> <\/p>\n

Small Mercedes G-Class teaser (right)<\/p>\n

Photo by: Mercedes-Benz<\/p>\n

Motor1’s Take:\u00a0Mercedes made the right move by adapting the petite G-Class to support combustion engines as well. The ICE version will presumably cost less and likely enjoy broader global appeal than the EV. Demand for the latter could be limited by underdeveloped charging infrastructure, whereas its gas-powered sibling won\u2019t face the same challenge.<\/p>\n

Given the huge success of the full-size G-Class, its little brother is shaping up to become another money-printing machine for the three-pointed star. Now that we know Mercedes also plans to offer an ICE version, we wouldn\u2019t be surprised if it eventually outsells its larger counterpart.<\/p>\n

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– The Motor1.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mercedes had planned to sell the smaller G-Class exclusively as an EV. Dealers in the United States insisted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20951],"tags":[917,20974,20976,21803,616,21804,9775,3622,21805,4424,10073],"class_list":["post-18133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mercedes-benz","tag-analysis","tag-b2c","tag-bev","tag-g-class","tag-industry","tag-little-g","tag-luxury","tag-mercedes-benz","tag-offroad-capable","tag-petrol","tag-suv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}