Mercedes-Benz G 450 d: Diesel variant aims to appeal to a new set of buyers with greater off-road focus

The new Mercedes-Benz G 450 d will appeal to a new type of buyer in Australia, among strong demand for all G-Wagen variants, according to the brand.

Speaking to WhichCar by Wheels at the local launch of the newest G-Wagen, Mercedes-Benz Australia predicts that the new G 450 d will appeal to a different set of buyers than the variants already on sale: off-road enthusiasts, specifically, much in the same way the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series or Land Rover Defender does.

While the high-performance AMG G 63 has traditionally been the biggest-selling G-Wagen variant, something that’s unlikely to change, the company thinks that the new G 450 d will appeal to buyers wanting greater off-road capability.

“We are already getting organic information from our network that we’re seeing non-traditional customers looking at the G 450 d, ones that could be more off-road focused and maybe coming from new brands, or perhaps even a GLE,” said Jerry Stamoulis, Head of Media Relations and Brand Engagement at Mercedes-Benz Australia.

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“The G 450 d is an off-road vehicle and you’re meant to take it off-road more than an AMG G 63, for example. We don’t know how many 63 buyers take their car off-road, but it’s likely to be quite small because the 63 is the performance model. The 450 d is a great off-road vehicle,” added Sales Director Johannes Schoen.

The revised strategy for the G 450 d comes among increasing demand for the G-Wagen in Australia. To the end of October 2025, 466 units were sold, which is a 35.9 per cent increase on the same period in 2024. If the same momentum continues to the end of 2025, G-Class sales are set to hit almost 600 for the first time since 2021 – a considerable number at this price point.

“We’ve seen really high demand for the G 450 d,” says Schoen. “The AMG G 63 is the all-time favourite, but we’ve launched the G 450 d just last month and we’re already quite pleased. Our order bank for the G 450 d has filled up remarkably fast, with allocations for the first production months effectively spoken for just weeks after launch.”

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It was 2021 when the last diesel G-Wagen was offered locally, with the short-lived G 400 d priced at $246,500 plus on-road costs and using a less powerful version of the G 450 d’s inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel engine. While the AMG G 63 remains the most popular variant, Mercedes-Benz Australia executives say that there’s clear demand for a diesel powertrain in the line-up.

“Customer demand brought the diesel back,” said Schoen. “We used to have a wider range and then for a period, we didn’t and it was just the 63, but now we see potential because we think that there’s demand [for the G 450 d] so we brought the car in and we’re finding that it’s hitting the spot.”

2026 Mercedes-Benz G-Class pricing (plus on-road costs): 

The Mercedes-Benz G 450 d is now on sale in Australia, with local deliveries already underway.