How Cancelation Of Shah Of Iran’s Military Trucks Order Created Mercedes G-Wagon

In August 2025, the 600,000th G-Wagon—an obsidian black metallic, all-electric G 580 with EQ Technology—rolled off the production line at the Magna Steyr plant in Graz, Austria, where the vehicle has been manufactured since production first began nearly five decades ago in 1979.

This major milestone comes just over two years after the 500,000th G-Class was built in April 2023, and less than five years after the 400,000th model of the boxy SUV rolled off the Magna Steyr assembly line in Austria in December 2020.

While the German auto giant is on track to break new records with its iconic boxy SUV, the original concept for what is now the most popular SUV on the road was not actually Mercedes-Benz’s idea, but rather the Shah of Iran’s, who reportedly ordered a massive 20,000 military units to secure Iran’s borders.

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The idea of the G-Class, popularly known as the G-Wagon, was birthed back in 1972 thanks to suggestions by the then-Shah (King) of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who at the time was a significant Mercedes-Benz (then Daimler-Benz) shareholder.

To fulfill the Shah’s requirements, Mercedes required external assistance during the production phase, leading to a collaboration with Steyr-Daimler-Puch—an Austrian-based military equipment manufacturer—in a partnership that continues to this day.

Due to the Shah’s massive investment, the German car giant treated the project as a top priority, though the contract was later canceled when the Islamic Revolution deposed him on February 11, 1979—a pivotal event that accidentally turned the rugged military truck into a consumer vehicle.

“It was meant to be an off-road vehicle for civilian and non-civilian use… So the vehicle was developed very form-follows-function,” said Marcus Maurer, Technical Director and COO of Operations for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, explaining why the vehicle retains its signature boxy stance, exposed door hinges, and flat glass windows.

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