New Recession Indicator Just Dropped: BMW Is Apparently No Longer Doing A G-Wagen Rival

On a cultural level, ruggedly boxy luxury SUVs are all the rage, and word went around last summer that BMW was working on a rival to the most famous luxurious rugged box of them all, the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. Now, though, it looks like those plans are being put on hold. According to BMW Blog citing "sources familiar with the program," the project that would see BMW build a very squared-off flagship SUV has apparently failed to "clear final approval" in an effort to "prioritize lineup discipline."

Translation: In an era when Volkswagen is reportedly thinking about slashing half of its lineup just to stay afloat, Porsche is cutting thousands of jobs, and economists are using the word "recession" when discussing the global economy, BMW leadership probably saw the idea of a mostly unnecessary, $200,000 moonshot off-road car they've never done before and went, "Maybe now's not the time."

BMW Blog says the project started out as a Rivian R1T benchmarking exercise, turned into an EV concept sharing bones with the new iX3, but was then pivoted to the more gas-friendly CLAR platform that also underpins the new-gen X5 when EV demand died down. The publication's sources go on to describe the car as a big three-row SUV with a huge pano roof, tailgate seats, and, naturally, BMW's new Neue Klasse design. Previous reporting from Automotive News alleged that the would-be G-Class rival, codenamed G74, would launch in the second half of 2029.

All that said, there's an argument to be made that showy halo cars like a potential G-Wagen rival are more recession-proof than most products — Lamborghini just had its best sales year ever in 2025 via flagship supercars, and while Ford sales overall are down, rich folks keep buying Raptors.

BMW in particular, however, is a company that categorically didn't have a very good experience the last time it did a unique, flagship, electrified, new-model SUV like this. The BMW XM, which can be described as a sort of BMW G-Wagen project but make it fast instead of off-road, debuted in 2022 to polarizing critical reception. Sales also weren't spectacular, leading to deep discounts by 2024, and BMW discontinuing all but the top Label model for 2026.

But who knows? 2029 is still a ways away, and there's plenty of time for BMW to (allegedly) reverse course again and bring us the X8 or whatever the top 0.5% of its clientele wants. Maybe we'll just have to wait for the economy to become good again. The economy is going to become good again, right?