No matter how popular the car is, it will always be tricky to convert customers to a fully electric version, and even though Mercedes-Benz pulled out all the stops to electrify the legendary G-Class, it appears potential buyers aren’t exactly onboard.
Sales have been so underwhelming that the company is now reportedly looking at modifying its upcoming EV-only baby G-Class to include a combustion option in an effort to avoid a flop, according to a new report from Germany.
The fully electric G580 with EQ Technology made its debut back in April last year, but things haven’t gone according to plan. Handelsblatt reports that interest has been extremely poor. “The car is sitting like lead at dealers; it’s a complete flop,” one executive at Mercedes reportedly told the publication. Another insider noted, “It’s a niche model; production numbers are very low.”
The report highlights that by the end of April this year, just 1,450 units had been sold across Europe.
While the electric version struggles, the combustion-powered G-Class continues to sell strongly. According to Handelsblatt, the petrol-powered model is outselling the EV version by a factor of seven. Unlike the EQS and EQE models, which have received criticism for uninspiring styling, the electric G looks nearly identical to the petrol version, so design isn’t the issue here.