Mercedes-Benz closes order book on 2021 G-Class: Land Rover Defender rival selling too fast for German brand to keep up

Mercedes-Benz Australia has been forced to stop taking new orders of its G-Class luxury SUV to clear the backlog of sales as production slows due to pandemic-related issues and a shortage of semi-conductors.

Speaking to CarsGuide, Mercedes-Benz product communications manager Ryan Lewis confirmed the model still remains part of the German brand’s stable, and that order books will open again once more supply is available.

“The G-Class is still part of the local range and vehicles continue to be delivered, however, as a result of demand we are currently facing extensive delivery wait times for new G-Class orders,” he said.

“In order to provide a proper level of customer certainty and satisfaction, Mercedes-Benz Australia has placed a hold on further G-Class backorders at this stage. Our current focus is effectively managing the fulfilment of existing backorders based on production allocation.”

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Each G-Class is largely hand-built in Graz, Austria, a country that is currently experience a spike in Covid cases, while a global shortage of semi-conductors has severely hampered production for many brands including Toyota.

The new-generation G-Class, which launched in 2018, has also proven hugely popular overseas, with 7723 new registrations in the US last year – making 2020 its most popular year to date.

The G-Class is also understood to be extremely popular in China and Russia, though sales figures for those two countries are harder to come by.

In Australia, 270 G-Class’ were sold in 2020, but that figure has already been surpassed just eight months into 2021 with 422 new registrations to the end of August.

The Australian G-Class line-up consists of two variants, the G400d priced at $233,776 before on-road costs and the top-spec AMG G63 available from $298,876.

Powering the G400d is a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine making 243kW/700Nm, while the G63 flagship makes use of AMG’s ubiquitous 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 for a 430kW/850Nm punch.

The first-generation G-Class was in production from 1979 to 2018, but the current car could be the last with an internal combustion engine as Mercedes charges ahead into an electric future.

Just this week, Mercedes showed off an all-electric G-Class concept in Munich, dubbed EQG EV, which retains the boxy styling of iconic SUV.

The EQG EV also promises serious off-road chops thanks to a ladder-frame underpinning and 4x4 layout, but details on the electric powertrain are yet to surface.

A production date is also yet to be set for the electric G-Class, but given Mercedes’ quick turnaround time for previous show cars, we shouldn’t have long to wait.