Mercedes-AMG G 63 sold out

The Mercedes-AMG G 63 has officially sold out.

Mercedes-Benz Australia has confirmed it has temporarily closed the order book for the 2021 Mercedes-AMG G 63 after the wait time for the high-performance G-Class stretched to more than 12 months.

On the back of huge global demand, it is understood delivery fulfilment for the G 63 in Australia has now extended to the back end of 2022.

That’s despite a steady increase in prices for the reborn version that launched locally in 2018, packing in a 430kW 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine.

Speaking with carsales, Mercedes-Benz Australia media relations and product communications manager Ryan Lewis said officials have made the tough decision to stop taking new G 63 orders until more certainty on local allocation was assured.

“As a result of demand we are currently facing extensive delivery wait times for new orders of the Mercedes-AMG G 63,” he said.

“In order to provide a proper level of customer certainty and satisfaction, Mercedes-Benz Australia has placed a hold on further G 63 backorders at this stage. Our current focus is effectively managing the fulfilment of existing backorders based on production allocation.”

The temporary break in orders in Australia falls against a backdrop of spiking prices for the G 63, with its RRP now set at $299,000 plus on-road costs courtesy of the latest hike in June.

It is understood this increase is the third since the latest-generation Mercedes-AMG G 63 launched in Australia in December 2018, when it was priced at $247,700 plus ORCs.

Mercedes-Benz Australia originally forecast it would sell about 100 G 63s annually. However, increasing competition for allocation from overseas markets has put a strain on that figure as well as the Mercedes-AMG manufacturing facility, which prides itself on a significant ‘hand-built’ production process.

Lewis explained the rampant global demand had partly necessitated pricing increases in Australia – simply to ensure we received an allocation.

“Although I’m unable to give specific details about how vehicle pricing is determined, I can confirm that due to the level of demand globally it has been necessary to increase the vehicle price of the Mercedes-AMG G 63 to ensure its ongoing availability in the Australian market,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz Australia’s supply for the ‘entry-level’ Mercedes-Benz G 400d is said to be much more forthcoming, with the first deliveries set to reach showrooms next month priced at $233,900 plus ORCs.

The big, blocky G-Class was originally designed as a hard-core off-road machine, but when AMG dumped a V8 into the Gelandewagen (German for cross-country vehicle, or G-Wagen for short), it added a menacing edge – and a big dose of cachet value — to the vehicle.

The first performance-derived G 55 landed in 2001, while the current G 63 nomenclature arrived around 2013.

Today the G 63 is a cult-car among A-list celebrities, and the new-generation G-Class only reinforced that trait with a more luxurious interior fit-out and improved on-road manners.

The 430kW/850Nm biturbo V8 drives all four wheels via a nine-speed AMG Speedshift automatic transmission, and while it includes low-range ratios for off-roading, the hefty 4WD blitzes the 0-100km/h dash in just 4.5 seconds.

Adding more urgency to G 63 sales is the impending tightening of European emissions standards. While the current version still has some time on its side, on account of the fact the new-generation model was launched in 2018, forthcoming bans have sounded the death knell for the G 63 as well as a host of other internal combustion performance cars long-term.

Mercedes-AMG is expected to adapt an electrified drivetrain to the G-Wagen in the future, although nothing has been confirmed.