Mercedes is repositioning itself: Not only that the Swabians are squinting at the stars more than ever and are thinning out their program a lot. At the same time, they are also completely turning their architectures for hardware and software upside down. And all of this is what Mercedes boss Ola Källenius and his chief developer Thomas Schäfer want to explain to us with the “Concept CLA”, which they have now unveiled at the IAA in Munich.
A good 4.70 meters long, drawn in the flowing lines of the current EQ models and, like all studies, a bit more dazzling inside and out than later in the series, the new CLA will be the first offspring of what will in future only be a small family of compacts. Where there were previously seven models from the A-Class to the GLB, after 2024 a quartet will have to suffice, which will then include a CLA Shooting Break as possibly the last station wagon from Stuttgart and two off-road vehicles in the style of EQA and EQB.
Foundation for the entire model range
But what makes the Concept CLA as important for Messrs. Källenius & Co as the “Vision New Class” for BMW CEO Oliver Zipse, which is just a few stands further in the spotlight in Munich, is not the definition of the least, what a Mercedes has to be in the future and how much it will cost customers to reach for the stars in the near future. Whereby one can confidently assume that they will probably stretch much further and have to reckon with a five in the first place. What makes the study so important is its technical basis, because it lays the foundation for the entire model range for the next few years: “MMA” is the name of the platform and it is the first from Mercedes that is consistently designed for the needs of electromobility in large volumes is, even if it still allows the use of combustion engines for the transition.
Strongly inspired by the range record holder EQXX, it stands for the next, self-developed generation of electric motors, for dramatically improved batteries and for a new level of efficiency. With a standard consumption of 12 kWh per 100 kilometers, this “Mercedes Modular Architecture” should make the CLA the 1.0-litre car among electric sedans and, depending on the battery size, enable a range of up to 750 kilometers. And Mercedes also wants to set new records at the charging station with 800-volt technology: With a maximum of 250 kW, under ideal conditions, the electricity should flow for a maximum of 400 kilometers in 15 minutes.
Mercedes dared to make the same new start with the software as with the hardware and, following the example of Tesla and apparently ahead of VW with its tiresome Cariad, is now fully installing its own operating system for the first time. This “MB.OS”, which, with the processor staged like a jewel in the footwell of the study, turns from an abstract architecture into a tangible part of the car, gives the driver even more digital gimmicks on the now three screens, which are located under the continuous glass across the entire car. And it enables developers to have more complex functions through better networking and, above all, shorter development times and faster updates.
However, it will not work entirely without patience. On the contrary: the production version of the CLA will not be shown until next year and will not be delivered before 2025.
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