Concept CLA Class EV Brings Mercedes-Benz's Future Small Cars Into Focus
Some concept cars are wild, far-fetched, futuristic fantasies, but others — like the Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA Class — are firmly grounded in reality. Making its debut ahead of the Munich auto show on Sunday, this showcar obviously previews the next-generation CLA-Class sedan that's due to arrive in late 2024. But there's more to the Concept CLA than meets the eye. Much, much more.
Riding on the brand-new Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) platform, the Concept CLA Class has bones that'll soon underpin a range of small vehicles. Mercedes-Benz says MMA takes an "EV first" approach, meaning it's designed to prioritize fully electric powertrains while still allowing for internal combustion engine integration. That's hugely important, since MMA will form the basis of not just the CLA-Class sedan, but the GLA-Class and GLB-Class SUVs, as well as their EQA and EQB electric counterparts.
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But that's not all. The MMA platform will be powered by Mercedes' new MB.OS operating system, as well as a completely new electric drive unit, the details of which are somewhat scarce at the moment.
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The key details? All MMA-based vehicles will have 800-volt architecture allowing for 250-kilowatt DC fast charging, and Mercedes-Benz is estimating the production CLA-Class EV should have a driving range of 466 miles on the notoriously optimistic European WLTP test cycle. That should still be about 400 miles under American EPA standards. Not bad.
Deep red paint and more stars than you can shake a stick at
The concept car certainly looks like a proper evolution of the swoopy little CLA-Class sedan — sorry, four-door coupe – at first glance. At a preview event in Munich, Germany last week, Mercedes-Benz designer Mayya Markova told me the CLA is a "close to production concept," so get ready to see something like this on the road. I'm into it.
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Mercedes-Benz won't divulge exact dimensions, but says the concept is similarly sized to the current CLA, though it has a much more elegant and athletic stance, with shorter overhangs, and increased dash-to-axle ratio and scant rear deck. The showcar's rear track is wider than the front, and if you look at it from a bird's eye view, you'll notice more pronounced hips over the back wheels. Speaking of which, those are huge 21-inch wheels on the concept car, with a concave dish and six-spoke pattern, complemented by a whole mess of little three-pointed stars.
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Markova said that deep shade of red is called Granatapfel – German for "pomegranate" – and is the combination of a base paint finished with several layers of tinted clearcoat. She also told me the CLA's grille is the "pride of the car," because all of those tiny little stars are scattered across the front fascia like jewelry, and can light up all at once or in specific patterns, for welcome and goodbye sequences, or a shimmery twinkle effect.
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Lighting plays a key role in the Concept CLA's design, and you'll notice a full-width daytime running light bar that spans the width of the hood and wraps around to the sides. A similar design is used around back, where a long running light stretches across the trunk and over the rear wheel arches. Interestingly, this isn't solely a running light, but shine-through chrome, so the bit of brightwork is visible even when the lights are off. It's a technology that's only recently been used in automotive applications, most notably on the Hyundai Sonata.
Glass roof with lidar built in
If there aren't enough stars for you on the grille and wheels, the CLA Concept has more strewn across the single-panel glass roof. Look closely and you'll notice the sedan has a traditional full-circle A pillar, but uses no B or C pillars, instead having one sloping piece of glass with a bunch of illuminated stars etched in.
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I don't imagine Mercedes-Benz will be able to ditch the B and C pillars for the production CLA, but one thing's sure to carry over: the lidar sensors bundled atop the A pillar. Look closely and you'll notice the concept has a small but purposeful bulge at the top of its windshield – that's where the lidar is housed. Timo Kallenbach, one of Mercedes-Benz's product managers, told me the CLA was "level 3 ready," but the production car won't necessarily launch with this capability.
Swanky cabin with attractive brightwork
The CLA's cabin pushes the boundaries of futuristic and fancy, but you can clearly see the elements that'll make it to production. That large, curved, dash-spanning display — called MBUX Superscreen when it launched on the latest E-Class – will almost certainly be offered, with three individual screens for the gauge cluster, central infotainment system and a passenger entertainment portal, because that's quickly becoming the norm.
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On either side of the Superscreen, you'll notice two large dials that almost look like the outlines of air vents. And while these do control the fan speed and interior temperature, the airflow actually comes from the metal vents set behind the curved display.
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It's a neat design trick, and I love how the vents and other brightwork are super polished. Ditto the metal on the steering wheel, though we imagine that'd get pretty hot on a summer day.
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The Concept CLA's center console stops just shy of meeting with the dashboard, leaving an open space where you can see the illuminated and water-cooled MB.OS processor. There's a wireless charging pad built into the console, and it's actually made out of glass. The seats look really cool, too, though there isn't much room for back-seat riders — something that'll likely be true of the production CLA.
Concept CLA has a major focus on recycled materials
What's super cool about the Concept CLA is the clever use of recycled materials throughout the interior. The silver leather is made from recycled fabrics, and the color actually comes from the material being stained with coffee bean husks. The straps on the doors for the map pockets are made from artificial silk, and feel kind of like super-soft seatbelts.
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The floormats are made from bamboo, though you'd never know – the texture is pretty much just like carpet. Finally, check out the gray door handles around the window switches – this is made of paper, reinforced with a fire-resistant laminate.
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The best part? When asked about the likelihood of these materials coming to market, interior designer Christina Nowack said "most [are] possible for production." That doesn't guarantee anything, of course, but it's nice to see Mercedes-Benz and other automakers moving in this direction.
CLA-Class launches in 2024 with more vehicles to follow
Despite this concept being pretty stinkin' close to what we'll see in the production CLA (and other MMA-based vehicles), there are still a lot of details we don't know. Mercedes-Benz confirmed that the battery is liquid-cooled, but won't say how large it is. We know the standard setup will use a single electric motor and two-speed transmission good for about 235 horsepower. Other than that, though, it's all very much TBD.
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When the MMA products enter production in late 2024, they'll be built in several locations around the world: China, Germany and Hungary. Look for the electric CLA to launch first, with the gas-fed versions to follow. GLA and GLB crossovers will likely arrive the following year, and I'm stoked to see how the svelte lines of this concept make their way to these more upright SUV shapes.