Barely a week after the model made its first official public outing in our market, it appears that the Mercedes-Benz G-Class EV might be launched in Malaysia as soon as next week. This is following Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s (MBM) revelation on its social media channels that the first public test drive event for the G-Class EV in Malaysia is set to take place from 27 to 29 June.
According to Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s website, the test drive event will take place from 27 to 29 June at the Raintree Plaza in The Exchange TRX. The website also noted that there will be five time slots available every day from 10 AM to 8 PM, although the event area itself will be open until 10 PM.
Mercedes-Benz G-Class EV specs
The G-Class EV is not this model’s official name. Instead, it is actually the Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology.
When it was originally revealed in a concept form back in 2021, it was called the Concept EQG. However, the model was launched after Mercedes dropped the EQ prefix from its EV, which is how we ended up with the lengthy official name. For the sake of simplicity, we just call it the G-Class EV.
From the outside, it is not hard to separate the G-Class EV from its gas-guzzling counterparts (G 550 / G 63) even though it still has the series’ signature boxy design. Being a fully electric model, the G-Class EV has a different front grille design that also includes an LED outline.
The unit shown at MBFWKL also features a square box on its back instead of the usual circular case that is usually used to hold a spare tire. Owners can use this box to store things like charging cables and tools.
The G-Class EV also has some features that are not available with its fossil fuel counterparts. One such feature is called the G-Turn (or known by most as the tank turn), which allows the EV to rotate up to 720 degrees on its own axis.
Aside from that, the G-Class EV also has a wading depth of 850mm (0.85m), which is 150mm more than the petrol version. Other EV-exclusive features include the G-Steering, intelligent Offroad Crawl functionalities and V8-inspired G-Roar driving sound experience.
Performance-wise, the SUV features four electric motors with a combined output of 432kW (579hp) alongside 1,164Nm of torque. Powered by a 116kWh lithium-ion battery, the G-Class EV offers a WLTP-rated range of up to 473km.
This EV also comes with an 11kW AC onboard charger and supports a DC charging speed of up to 200kW. In terms of charging time, it takes around 12 hours to go from 10% to 100%, while with DC charging, it is much faster at 32 minutes to recharge the battery from 10% to 80%.
As expected from a Mercedes, the G-Class EV comes standard with the MBUX infotainment system alongside a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and another 12.3-inch media display. Two 11.6-inch touch displays can also be installed for rear passengers, although it is unknown at the moment whether this option will be made available for our market.
The price tag for the G-Class EV in Malaysia is still a secret for now as well. That being said, it is likely to be lower than its petrol counterpart, the Mercedes-AMG G63, which has an eye-watering price of around RM1.9 million.
