The star of the show is the Electric Drive Unit 2.0, designed in-house by Mercedes. This rear-axle unit packs a punch with 268 horsepower. For the US market, the CLA will come with 4Matic all-wheel drive, featuring a 107-hp front motor that kicks in when needed. The front motor has a neat trick up its sleeve - a Disconnect Unit that can decouple it from the axle to boost efficiency. The company says it'll hit a top speed of 130 miles per hour.
The EV tech doesn't stop there. The new CLA will sport an 800-volt system with DC fast charging up to 320 kilowatts. It'll carry a premium battery with 85.0 kilowatt-hours of usable capacity. Mercedes is aiming for a range of up to 466 miles on the WLTP cycle. They're even claiming the Concept CLA Class can add 186 miles of range in just 10 minutes of charging.
But Mercedes isn't putting all its eggs in one basket. They're also offering a hybrid powertrain option. This setup pairs a 1.5-liter four-cylinder Miller-cycle engine from their Family of Modular Engines (FAME) with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The transmission integrates a 27-hp electric motor and an inverter. A 1.3-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery rounds out the package.
The hybrid system will deliver 188 hp at launch, with front-wheel drive as standard and 4Matic all-wheel drive as an option.
Mercedes hasn't announced pricing for the new CLA yet, but for reference, the current four-door CLA Coupe starts at $45,550. The new model will hit the market sometime next year.
This move is part of Mercedes-Benz's bigger plan to transition to a fully electric future. By offering both EV and hybrid options, they're catering to different levels of consumer readiness for electric vehicles.
