Mercedes-Benz G-Class achieves 300,000 milestone in 38 years

The 300,000th Mercedes-Benz G-Class has rolled out of the Magna Steyr facility in Graz, Austria, where it has been in production since 1979. The milestone G-Class was a G500 finished in designo Mauritius blue metallic with black leather seats and contrast coloured white stitching.

Interestingly, the milestone G-Class wasn’t according to customer specification. Instead, it was a specific combination selected by the general audience who voted for their favourite specification on the official Facebook page of the G-Class. The landmark vehicle will now be on display on social network, says the German carmaker. The specification which got the winning combination gets the off-road package, all-black 16-inch wheels wrapped in all-terrain tyres completed with a roof rack. 

It took 38 long years for the Gelandewagen to achieve the 300,000 model milestone. The highest ever sales record was witnessed last year when the SUV found 20,000 takers in 2016. The sales have been on an increase since 2012, claimed the Stuttgart-based carmaker.

The G-Class is one of the longest produced Mercedes-Benz in Daimler's history. Developed as a military vehicle from a suggestion by the Shah of Iran, the civilian version was introduced in 1979. It is sometimes even referred to as the ‘Wolf’ because it served in the German armed forces. The development of the G-Class began in 1972 with a cooperation agreement between the former Daimler-Benz AG (today Daimler AG) and Steyr-Daimler-Puch (today Magna Steyr) in Graz, Austria while the production began on 1 February 1979. The G-Class, has been, till date, assembled in the same facility on just a single production line.

Commenting on the production milestone, Dr Gunnar Güthenke, head of the off-road product group at Mercedes-Benz said, “Today our off-road icon is more successful than ever. The production of 300,000 G-Class models is an impressive milestone. The team which has contributed substantially to this success includes employees who have been part of the story of the G-Class for 38 years. We have enjoyed decades of successful cooperation with Magna Steyr in the production of the G-Class.”