When Mercedes-Benz launches its next-generation CLA family next year it will feature, as expected, an all-electric drivetrain. But, reflecting the realities of the global market, it will also be offered with a choice of hybrid powertrains, as well. And it will move away from the controversial “one-bow” styling of earlier battery-electric models like the EQS and EQE.
When the new version of the Mercedes-Benz CLA reaches market next year, the German luxury brand will offer seemingly something for everyone – at least for those with deep enough pockets.
The CLA is a critical product line, the entry point for buyers into the Mercedes brand, and the automaker plans to make it available in a broad range of options, eventually including sedan, wagon and SUV body styles. And where it was widely expected to migrate to an all-electric drivetrain in its new form, the new CLA’s MMA platform allows Mercedes to offer a choice of five EV and hybrid alternatives – while still more may follow.
“With the new CLA and the other vehicles based on the MMA architecture, all customers will benefit from efficient technology at the highest level,” Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG. Chief Technology Officer, Development & Procurement
Lifting a page from the EQXX
The Mercedes EQXX concept achieved a record 1,000-km run without recharging in 2022.
Mercedes has offered up a first look at the new CLA in prototype form and it’s readily apparent the automaker is moving away from what it called the controversial “one-bow” design language used for its earlier EVs, the EQE and EQS lines.
The look of the CLA doesn’t stray all that far from the Concept CLA we first saw in September 2023 – that prototype itself strongly influenced by the experimental Mercedes EQXX test vehicle.
As you’d expect, aerodynamics play a critical role in the shape of the production vehicle, improving both range and performance by cheating the wind. With the EQXX, that helped achieve some record-setting runs. One from Mercedes headquarters in Stuttgart to Britain’s Silverstone race track, topped 1,200 km, or 750 miles, on a single charge.
“Electric first”
The new CLS moves away from both the design and EV-only strategy introduced with the Mercedes EQS (shown here).
With the EQS and EQE models, Mercedes relied on a unique, skateboard-like platform, dubbed EVA2, that could be used only with all-electric drivetrains. The production CLA goes with the new Mercedes Modular Architecture, or MMA, which gives engineers more flexibility.
The goal was to do it right for an EV drivetrain, meaning the battery pack and key components, like motors, will be mounted underneath the drive floor. This yields plenty of space for batteries, as well as a lower center of gravity – while also freeing up space for passengers and cargo.
But, unlike EQE and EQS, the new CLA models will be offered with a choice of all-electric and hybrid drivetrain alternatives.
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All-electric options
In all-electric form, the CLA will have key components, such as the battery pack, mounted below its load floor.
Mercedes will give the new CLA, in its most basic, entry-level form, a single rear-mounted electric motor making 268 horsepower. One unusual detail: it will rely on a two-speed transmission to send power to the rear axle. Until now, the vast majority of EVs have been single-speed affairs. This promises to boost acceleration while improving efficiency at highway speeds.
Upgraded all-wheel-drive packages add a second motor up front capable of kicking in another 107 hp. The AWD system allows the front motor to disengage when coasting or cruising to reduce range-sapping drag.
Expect to see a more powerful AMG package in the future, though Mercedes isn’t ready to talk about that option.
Long range, fast charging
A Mercedes engineer is shown testing the CLA in a lab.
If initial factory estimates hold true, we can expect to see the most efficient version of the CLA sedan deliver up to 466 miles range per charge with an 85-kWh lithium battery. That is, however, using the WLTP global test cycle. EPA numbers are likely to come in as much as 20% lower. The CLA, incidentally, goes with new silicon oxide anode technology to improve the energy density of its batteries.
For those who don’t need quite as much range – and want to cut costs, a 58-kWh LFP battery options will be offered.
Significantly, the MMA electrical architecture is designed to operate at 800 volts, rather than the 400-volt system in the EQE and EQS. There are a number of advantages to that, including the ability to charge faster.
The lithium pack will be able to guzzle a full 320 kW of energy from the fastest DC public chargers available, allowing to add 36 kWh of power – or about 40% of its range, in just 10 minutes.
Hybrid alternatives
The hybrid versions of the CLA will rely on a 1.5-liter gas engine and a 27-hp electric motor mounted in the transmission.
Like its competitors, Mercedes planners have had to rethink their commitment to EVs, recognizing that in many key markets, such as the U.S., the growth rate has slowed down sharply, (and could decelerate even more under the incoming Trump administration). As a result, the automaker has designed the MMA platform to be more flexible than the old EVA2. That provides space for the internal combustion engine needed in a hybrid drivetrain.
If there’s one surprise here, Mercedes decided to forego adding a plug-in hybrid to the option list. It’s generated mediocre sales with current PHEV packages and also found that many plug-in owners don’t actually bother to, well, plug in to keep the battery side of the drivetrain charged up.
Instead, it will offer three different conventional hybrid options, depending upon the market. All will rely on a new 1.5-liter inline-four gas engine – basically a 3.0-liter Mercedes I-6 cut in half. Dubbed the M252, it is notably smaller and lighter than the gas engine in today’s CLA, helping compensate for the added weight of the battery pack and an electric motor built into the hybrid’s 8-speed dual-clutch transmission.
At its most efficient, the package will make 135 hp and 147 lb-ft of torque. The mid-level package boosts that to 160 hp and 184 lb-ft, with the sportiest alternative delivering 187 hp and 221 lb-ft. The 27-hp motor will be able to drive the CLA in EV Mode at speeds of up to 62 mph – the gas engine automatically firing up under hard acceleration and at higher speeds. But don’t expect much range from the modest 1.3 kWh pack.
Availability and pricing
Mercedes plans to launch the next-generation CLA in sedan form first, rolling it into dealerships in some markets by the latter half of next year as a 2026 model. The wagon and SUV packages will follow at an unspecified later date. AMG packages are expected further down the line.
While there will be a variety of different body style and powertrain options, the odds of a U.S. wagon seem low and American buyers likely won’t get all three hybrid choices.
Mercedes has yet to reveal pricing plans. That should come closer to the on-sale date, depending upon the market.
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