Baby Mercedes G-Class spotted testing as ‘Little G’ EV preps for 2027 launch

This is our first proper look at a significant new addition to Mercedes’ all-electric range - the upcoming baby Mercedes G-Class. 

There’s still confirmation needed from Mercedes on precisely what the electric SUV will be called. Speaking to Auto Express way back in 2023 at the Munich Motor Show Mercedes CEO Ola Kallenius referred to it as ‘little G’, though Mercedes also has registered trademarks of G 250 and G 300, which would make sense alongside the larger G 580 with EQ Technology. 

The ‘little G’ or ‘baby G-Class’ is expected to arrive in 2027, after a possible reveal at the end of 2026. Pricing for the new electric G-Class will undercut the full-size model significantly, but by how much is still to be revealed. 

That electric G-Class currently starts at around £154,000, but it remains to be seen where the brand will position its new model. It could be a potential rival for the Land Rover Defender, or closer to Land Rover’s baby-Defender due in 2027. 

Whatever the new electric SUV from Mercedes will be called, thanks to our new spy shots we know it’ll draw heavy inspiration from the full size G-Class - especially in its design. 

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What will the new Mercedes baby G-Class look like?

Taking the current G-Class design and shrinking it into a mid-size SUV similar in size to the EQB seems to be the brief behind the ‘baby G’ - at least that’s what our spy shots of a prototype model suggest. 

The typical G-Class design cues are all there with a bluff front end featuring distinctive round headlights, a boxy silhouette, a flat bonnet and an upright windscreen. There’s also the trademark flat rear end featuring a spare wheel cover on a side-hinged rear door. It’s worth noting that the spare wheel cover on this test car will probably provide a space to store the charging cables - just like you’d find on the G 580 with EQ Technology.

We can also make out some interesting details about the ‘little G’ despite its camouflage. It’ll get boxy wheel arches, rain-gutters (like the original G-Class), roof rails and chunky door handles - rather than the flush-fitting handles you get on other electric Mercedes. This test car is also kitted-out with a panoramic sunroof, which may be standard equipment on Mercedes’ electric SUV. 

The interior, like the exterior, should gain plenty of inspiration from the current G-Class, with squared-off turbine air vents, an oversized grab handle for the passenger and an upright driving position. It’ll also run Merc’s latest MBUX system with vast touchscreens and slick user interfaces. 

Sitting beneath the full-size G-Class, the smaller model will obviously have a lower and narrower body with a shorter wheelbase - the latter could actually help it provide just as much off-road ability as the larger car. We’ll have to wait and see if it becomes ‘Schoeckl approved’ - the mountain in Graz, Austria where Mercedes tests all of its G-Class models - from diesel and petrol to pure-electric.  

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What will underpin the new baby G?

The baby G will enter the market to give the legions of G-Class fans a smaller and more urban-friendly option. However, to avoid diluting the G-Class magic, Mercedes has not cut corners in the new vehicle’s development. 

Markus Schäfer told Auto Express: “The G is [a] very special and authentic car, so the mini G has to be authentic. So I cannot just take an existing platform; I have to create my own platform modules and that’s what’s happening.”

This suggests that huge amounts of work have gone into the development of a new chassis that has similar appeal to today’s G-Class, only at a smaller scale. However, the baby G will have one important difference, Markus explained: “It’s not a ladder frame to this extent, but in terms of wheel size and articulation, it’s a completely new development we have had to do.”

Without a ladder chassis, it’s possible that the new baby G-Class won’t have the same sort of driving feel as the original, but Markus acknowledged this by telling us: “We spent a lot of time tuning this car, and over time started to develop so many unique components to make it a very good-looking car and very very capable. In fact, we designed far too many unique parts, but we believe this is what it needs.” 

In terms of powertrain, Schäfer was less revealing, saying: “I don’t want to go into those details, but just looking at the current capabilities and what’s needed, I came more and more to the conclusion that it has to be unique.” 

We expect the baby G to utilise a modified version of the brand’s new MB.EA platform - recently put to use by the CLA EV. While the electric CLA is single-motor right now, a dual-motor version is coming with an all-important four-wheel drive system, which should give us a better idea of the power offered in the baby G. 

We know the baby G we spotted is an EV thanks to its blanked-off grille, though it’s not yet known whether the option of an ICE powertrain has been discounted entirely. In other comments, Schäfer also ruled out range-extender powertrains on small to medium-sized models, which would include the new G. 

Details on the battery size haven’t been revealed, but it’s certain to be smaller than the huge 116kWh battery found in the G 580 with EQ Technology. 

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