Future Launch: Mercedes-Benz is expanding its popular G-Class line-up, and while the standard G-Class SUV will soon get an all-electric EQG, there will be another “smaller G-Class” SUV which will hit the roads by 2026. This new SUV, similar to the EQG, will be EV-only, and will be developed by Mercedes’ new specialist G division as the third model in an expanded G range, as per an Auto Car India report.

ICE, hybrid powertrains for smaller G-Class

Technical Chief at Mercedes Benz, Markus Schafer, confirmed the powertrain plans for the SUV at the latest CES held in Las Vegas, dismissing possibilities that the model could be o made available in hybridised internal combustion engines.

The model was first confirmed by Mercedes Benz CEO, Ola Kallenius, at the Munich motor show, where he referred to it as the “little G... a son or daughter of the iconic big G," it said.

Mercedes-Benz design chief Gorden Wagener said that the new machine will take strong design cues from the "iconic DNA" of the existing G-Class. "It will have its own character, but it will be a G," he said.

MMA platform

The luxury carmaker has launched a new Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA) that will be used for a range of entry-level cars in the coming years, starting with the new Mercedes-Benz CLA. However, Schafer informed that the 'little G' will sit on a different platform, using modules from Mercedes' larger rear-driven cars, due to its need to offer true off-roading ability, as per media reports.

This means the platform will be different, but likely to take learnings from that of the full-sized EQG, which will use a reworked version of the existing ICE G-Class’s ladder-frame chassis and will be powered by four electric motors, it said.