Mercedes-Benz has drawn a line around its smaller G-Class, and it is a wide one. Mercedes-AMG CEO Stefan Weckbach said this week that the compact off-roader will not be chasing the same buyer as the original.

"We will make sure that the little G-Class will target a different segment," Weckbach said. Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius said in an interview published in October 2024 that the smaller truck should arrive in less than 24 months, and he repeated that 24-month timing again in a new interview six days ago. That points to an expected debut around 2028.

Mercedes Little G-Class teaser

Photo by: Mercedes-Benz

Weckbach was blunt about who the Little G is for. It will not target "the real G customer," he said, separating the smaller model from the buyer who walks into a Mercedes showroom wanting the full-size G-Class and nothing smaller.

Analysts see the Little G as Mercedes' answer to compact luxury off-roaders, and a smaller G-badged SUV gives the brand a lower entry point while the larger G-Class stays at the top of the range.

Källenius has been equally clear that the two SUVs are not meant to compete with each other. He has spoken with evident pride about the G-Class's off-road pedigree, name-checking the Schöckl test mountain in Austria where the brand puts every G through its paces.

"There is only one car in the world that can do that, and that is the G," Källenius said, describing descents of 60 to 70 kilometers per hour, or roughly 37 to 43 mph, on that mountain. The Little G isn't being built to match that benchmark.

It's meant to carry the spirit of it into a smaller package.

Even with a different target buyer, Mercedes wants the family resemblance intact. Weckbach described a vehicle that borrows "some of the larger vehicle's G-Class genes" rather than functioning as a shrunken copy of the original body-on-frame truck.

Källenius promised "very good off-road capability" for the smaller model. Reported development work centers on suspension geometry, wheel dimensions, and axle articulation. Those are the pieces that actually determine how a vehicle handles broken terrain.

The powertrain story has shifted too. Weckbach's predecessor, Michael Schiebe, confirmed the Little G will offer both combustion and electric versions after North American dealers pushed hard for a gas option on top of an electric version.

What do you think?

Several test mules have already been spotted wearing camouflage, and Mercedes is reportedly pursuing production in Hungary rather than at the German plant that builds the full-size G-Class.

Mercedes and AMG executives have outlined a lineup with combustion and electric powertrains, hinting at a turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine and a dual-motor all-wheel-drive EV. They have not detailed specific engines or confirmed any direct carryover from the GLA's engine lineup.

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Extracted and lightly reformatted for readability. · Source: pt