- Mercedes has teased details of the new electric CLA sedan ahead of the car going on sale next year.
- CEO Ola Källenius takes the wheel of the Tesla Model 3 rival at Mercedes’ test track, confirming the EV’s two-speed transmission and a companion hybrid model.
- The Benz boss also gives us a look at the star-shaped DRLs in the headlights and tries the car’s AI voice assistant.
Life is about to get much tougher for the Tesla Model 3. Mercedes is almost ready to launch a rival, the CLA, and has just dropped a video of the firm’s boss driving the electric sedan to whet our appetites.
Due to go on sale in 2025 as a 2026 model, the CLA is a sporty-looking coupe-sedan and the first of a family of cars and crossovers built around a new electrified MMA platform. Though the car CEO Ola Källenius drives in the video is an EV, the former AMG chief confirms that hybrid versions will also be available.
Related: 2026 Mercedes CLA To Get A 2.0L Turbo Engine Built By China’s Geely
We’ve run spy shot stories on the CLA before, but the ‘official’ spy video and images released with it today give us our best look yet at the production version of the 2023 CLA Concept. And Källenius even pulls off some of the headlamp disguise to reveal the star-shaped DRLs in the front headlights, which look like white versions of the rear LEDs on the E-Class.
Though the video feels like it was made for an audience of seven-year-olds and is frustratingly light on details, we can glean some meaningful info on the CLA. The doors, for instance, feature frameless glass to give a coupe feel, and the huge panoramic roof – just like a Model 3’s – bathes the darkly upholstered cabin in light.
We don’t get to see the dashboard, but Källenius shows us the automaker’s new AI voice assistant tech. It comes with the MB.OS software that makes its debut on the CLA and helps you control the car’s functions to save you from getting distracted with touchscreen menus.
“Every digital feature you can possibly think of, you’ll probably find it in this car,” says Källenius proudly.
He also reveals that the electric CLA’s two-speed transmission is the secret to some incredible efficiency figures, though stops short of telling us the motor and battery stats or giving us a range figure. But based on what Mercedes told us about the CLA concept we can expect 800-volt electrics and 250 kW charging speeds that will enable the sedan to gain 248 miles (400 km) of range within just 15 minutes of a plug being attached.
The concept was powered by a lightweight 235 hp (175 kW / 238 PS) electric motor and delivered an overall driving range exceeding 466 miles (750 km), though no doubt Mercedes will offer multiple power levels. We also recently learned that the hybrid version of the CLA will get a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four built by China’s Geely.
