Mercedes-Benz previewed its new range of compact cars with the Concept CLA Class, an electric four-door coupe-style sedan with more than 750 km (466 miles) of range.
The Concept CLA was revealed Sunday night at an event ahead of the IAA Mobility show in Munich. It features a drivetrain derived from the EQXX concept, which was able to travel more than 1,000 km on a single charge.
Mercedes describes the concept as a “close-to-production insight” into a coming family of compact cars that will be the “gateway to the brand.” The compact range will have a four-door coupe, a station wagon and two SUVs, CEO Ola Kallenius said.
The Concept CLA features an 800-volt electric system that can add 400 km of range in 15 minutes, Mercedes says. It can charge at up to 250-kilowatt DC stations.
With highly efficient electric consumption of about 12-kilowatt-hours per 100 km, the Concept CLA is the new “1-liter car,” Mercedes says, comparing it to the most frugal internal-combustion vehicles today.
Kallenius says he remains committed to compact models, even as he emphasizes sales of high-margin vehicles, including the luxury Maybach brand, the high-performance AMG division and off-road G-Class. The average selling price of a Mercedes car has risen 43 percent since 2019, and is now about 73,000 euros ($78,000).
Mercedes currently sells seven main compact models in Europe built on the MFA2 platform: The A-Class, B-Class, A-Class sedan, CLA coupe, CLA station wagon, GLA (plus EQA EV) and GLB (plus EQB EV).