Mercedes-Benz has revealed the third-generation CLA sedan, through which it is aiming to enhance the space, refinement, comfort, intelligence and efficiency of the model against its predecessor. Representing the first in a new family of vehicles, each model in the new CLA range will be offered with both all-electric and hybrid powertrains.
The new CLA is the first vehicle from the automaker to operate on its all-new Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MB.OS). Developed in-house, the new AI-enhanced OS will also allow the automaker to equip its vehicles with a supercomputer that, itself, is connected to the Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud. While facilitating a variety of its connected functions, MB.OS enables regular OTA updates for key vehicle functions, including the CLA’s driver-assist systems, to ensure it remains up-to-date.
In addition to sitting at the core of the new CLA’s software functionality, MB.OS more broadly represents the fourth generation of the MBUX infotainment system. Through this new generation, Mercedes-Benz is looking to provide users with more personalized experiences and intuitive interactions with the vehicle. Mercedes-Benz said that it is also one of the first IVI systems to integrate AI technologies from both Microsoft and Google, combining their AI agents into one system. MB.OS, at the same time, offers users flexibility by integrating content from third-party providers, though the OEM confirmed that its familiar interface will remain.
MB.OS was demonstrated by Mercedes-Benz through the CLA’s optional MBUX Superscreen which extends across the entire width of the interior and features a 10.25-inch driver display, 14-inch center display and 14-inch front passenger display behind a large glass surface. This setup is powered by advanced chips and real-time, high-quality, graphics fed from the Unity game engine.
A new control and display concept offered through MB.OS embodies its focus on personalization, working through the MBUX Zero Layer on the central display to show key information, suggestions, and recently used apps. In the app view, the CLA’s apps can be moved and grouped into individually named folders, much like a smartphone, with a swipe to the left exiting an opened app. Another swipe takes the user back to the Zero Layer, though users can return to it at any time by pressing the infotainment system’s home button.
Through its focus on generative AI, MB.OS also provides users with an upgraded MBUX Virtual Assistant. Based on ChatGPT4 and searches with Microsoft Bing, which allow it to draw knowledge from the internet, Mercedes-Benz is aiming for the new assistant to enable complex, multi-turn dialogues that it says that the user may have with a friend. The assistant also utilizes Google Gemini (the tech giant’s AI chatbot) to help the user answer navigation-related questions, sourcing information from the Google Maps platform to provide detailed, personalized answers on navigation, points of interest and more. Within MB.OS, the assistant is displayed as an avatar in the form of the Mercedes-Benz star.
Navigation on the new CLA is based on Google Maps, with this new solution developed through a partnership between Google and Mercedes-Benz. The navigation system further represents one of the first implementations of Google Cloud’s new Automotive AI Agent for in-vehicle conversation services with Google Maps.
Within the system, the OEM’s Navigation with Electric Intelligence provides further support, planning the quickest, most convenient route (including charging stops along the way) based on a range of factors. On the new CLA, the scope of this feature is extended further with the new MBUX Surround Navigation, which integrates the driver-assistance view with a 3D representation of the vehicle’s surroundings, and route guidance, in-real time on the driver display.
At launch, the CLA will be offered in two variants: the CLA 250+ with EQ Technology, and the CLA 350 4MATIC with EQ Technology. The former offers an estimated 492-mile (792-km) range with 268 hp (199 kW), while the latter provides the same range with an increased maximum power of 349 hp (260 kW), positioning it as a top-of-the-range performance variant. The top speed of both variants was confirmed to be electronically limited to 130 mph (209 km/h), which Mercedes-Benz says can be achieved in second gear.
The new CLA’s 800-volt system featured helps reduce its overall charging times, in conjunction with its new-generation 85-kWh lithium-ion battery. With up to 320 kW fast charging possible on DC, Mercedes-Benz highlighted that the CLA 250+ can replenish up to 201 miles (325 kilometers) of range in around ten minutes. The battery itself features cells with anodes that mix silicon oxide with graphite, enabling a gravimetric energy density increase of up to 20 percent. At the same time, its cobalt content has been further reduced, while its overall carbon footprint sees a 30% reduction against its predecessor based on a variety of carbon reduction measures.
The electric CLA is the first Mercedes-Benz vehicle to feature an air-to-air heat pump. As a multi-source design, the heat pump can use three energy sources simultaneously: waste heat from the electric drivetrain, the battery, and ambient air. By using this heat, the air-to-air heat pump maximizes the EV’s overall efficiency, requiring approximately a third of the energy that an auxiliary heater would need to deliver the same output.
While the electric CLA, and Mercedes-Benz’s other upcoming EVs, will play a key role in its sustainable business strategy, the OEM confirmed that the new CLA will also be offered as a hybrid equipped with 48-volt technology and an electric motor. The advanced combustion engine offered in the hybrid will initially be available in two outputs, as well as with front-wheel drive and 4MATIC all-wheel drive.
In the hybrid CLA, the electric motor, inverter, and transmission together form an integrated unit. Within it, the electric motor is capable of offering intelligent support at any speed. At the same time, when driving in cities, the hybrid can be driven with all-electric propulsion, with electric coasting possible at up to approximately 60 mph (96 km/h). The hybrid powertrain is also able to recuperate energy in all eight gears, capable of recovering up to 33 hp (25 kW) in total.
