Mercedes’ Compact Family Will Gain At Least Seven More Members

Last week’s launch of the new A-Class is only the beginning, as the range will reportedly include at least seven other derivatives.

The brand’s chief designer, Gorden Wagener, revealed this while talking to Australian journalists at the launch of the premium hatchback in the Netherlands, as CarAdvice reports.

“I can assure you that all variants on this platform, there will be at least eight”, Wagener said, adding that all of them “will be stunning”.

So what should we expect? Well, alongside the A-Class hatchback, the Sedan is coming as well, and it’s underpinned by the same front-wheel drive platform.

New generations of the GLA crossover, CLA four-door coupe, and B-Class MPV are also in development, as is the GLB, a boxy-looking vehicle that’s expected to be more practical than the GLA.

This brings us to a total of six different vehicles, all of them based on the modular platform, and the seventh one could be the Shooting Brake version of the new CLA. However, since its larger sibling, the CLS, has dropped the sleek-looking estate from the lineup, the CLA Shooting Brake could suffer a similar fate.

Another possible car is the A-Class Coupe. When asked about it, Wagener laughed, saying “just keep on guessing”.

An estate version of the A-Class hatchback is another possible derivative, as is a long wheelbase variant of the A-Class Saloon aimed exclusively at the Chinese market.

While every scenario seems plausible at this time, there are some variants that have absolutely no chance of getting the green light for production, namely Coupe and Convertible versions of the CLA and an open-top A-Class.

Note: 2019 Mercedes-Benz A-Class pictured