2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA EV teased with focus on efficiency

A new generation of the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class compact sedan arrives next year, with an all-electric variant as part of the lineup.

Mercedes first showed a camouflaged prototype of the CLA-Class EV in October, and on Wednesday it released a further tease in the form of a video of CEO Ola Källenius driving one of the prototypes.

Teaser for 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class

Underneath the camouflage, expect the CLA-Class EV to have styling based on the Concept CLA-Class unveiled at the 2023 Munich auto show. That concept also showed off the engineering of the Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) that will be the basis for the CLA EV and other next-generation compact Mercedes models.

MMA will incorporate an 800-volt electrical architecture, which Mercedes said allowed for DC fast charging that could recover up to 248 miles of range in 15 minutes in the Concept CLA-Class, and is designed around smaller battery packs. Range will be achieved more through efficiency than pack size, incorporating lessons learned from the Vision EQXX concept, which traveled a record 746 miles on a single charge in 2022. 

The CLA EV will be unveiled in 2025, meaning it will likely reach the U.S. as a 2026 model. In the teaser, Källenius confirmed that a high-performance AMG version is in development alongside the standard CLA-Class. And a hybrid powertrain option is expected to be offered alongside the all-electric ones.

In addition to the CLA-Class, which is expected to retain the "four-door coupe" shape of the current car and the Concept CLA-Class, Mercedes is expected to introduce a range of small cars based on the MMA underpinnings, including a crossover that could serve as a Tesla Model Y rival.

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