There might not be a surer sign you've landed in an emerging market than an unhurried, curiously badged Mercedes G-Wagon ranging past. Brabus is our OQ Upgrade this week.
What is the most quintessential EM vehicle on the road? OQ would love to facilitate this debate.
The upper echelon likewise features a crowded field full of sleek and, soon, evidently, even winged options. But if you're truly looking to actually invest, while being able to maneuver over anything on the ground, a particular customized Mercedes G-Wagon truck is EM-ubiquitous just now. And it is our pick for this Upgrades column: the Brabus.
The German-built trucks feature bespoke tuning, ultra-high performance, and are unmistakably luxury, which they should be with price tags sometimes approaching a million dollars.
But they are more than just status symbols. Across former Soviet states, parts of the Middle East, and other emerging markets, we are seeing a trend towards highly customized and limited-edition Brabus models becoming investable, as stores of value in their own right. Essentially real estate on wheels - but much cooler.
In EM regions where traditional investment avenues are limited—due to weak financial infrastructure, sanctions, lack of credit or all of the above—ultra-high net worth investors often turn to physical assets that preserve value, are movable and dollarized. The scarcity of genuine (yes, Brabus are now even counterfeited) models in constrained markets inflates their prices and boosts nominal gains for owners. Compounded by limited import channels, and the demand for them driven by global brand prestige, their one-off uniqueness, and the actual practical utility of the G-series more generally, it is a rolling store of value.
And it is therefore a constituent for a diversified "shadow portfolio", alongside luxury watches, fine art, precious metals or even crypto holdings. If recent news is any indication, it may even be the least problematic of that group: with watches and artwork being vulnerable to theft, and gold and crypto increasingly drawing global spotlight and volatility.
And yes, Brabus does EVs. Yachts, motorcycles, and lately even residential real estate, too, truly extending its brand.
But for us, it starts with the G.
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