Nearly three years in the past now, Mercedes-Benz confirmed off one thing that appeared able to doing the unimaginable. Dubbed the Imaginative and prescient EQXX, it had the identical measurement battery as a Mercedes EQS, simply 30% lighter and taking on half as a lot area. Its electrical motor was a lot smaller than most with its energy output. It was aerodynamic sufficient to make a fighter jet appear like a college bus.
Put all these improvements collectively, and Mercedes had a automobile that may drive 747 miles on a single cost—sure, actually—or 627 miles within the warmth of a Saudi Arabian desert. And it delivered groundbreaking electrical effectivity of as much as 8.5 miles per kilowatt-hour, nearly twice pretty much as good as immediately’s finest EVs.
At different automakers, this undertaking would have stayed a mere science experiment. Not so at Mercedes-Benz, the place considered one of its high engineers just lately advised me the automobile’s know-how will instantly translate to its most vital EV but: the brand new CLA-Class.
Timo Stegmaier, Mercedes head of e-drive compact/midsize and system validation, additionally labored on Mercedes-Benz’s groundbreaking EQXX undertaking and has been answerable for bringing most of the learnings from there into the virtually production-ready CLA.
Photograph by: InsideEVs
Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Prototype
“The world-record EQXX, it was essential for us with the automobile to affect sequence manufacturing,” Stegmaier mentioned of the long-tailed prototype machine. “It was very nice not solely doing a showcase with the EQXX, it was fairly cool additionally right here within the CLA.”
The brand new CLA-Class might be an important mannequin for Mercedes-Benz. Its first go at EVs, the EQ-branded sedans and SUVs, didn’t actually make a splash within the market as anticipated. Future Mercedes electrical fashions at the moment are mentioned to look far more like their acquainted gas-powered counterparts. And like different automakers, Mercedes can be pushing again its all-electric targets as gross sales show uneven.
However it might probably’t hand over on EVs totally. Mercedes faces intense electrical competitors in, and now from, China. It has strict emissions and gas economic system requirements to fulfill globally. And the corporate lengthy identified for innovation doesn’t wish to cede that management to anybody. So the CLA-Class would be the first of a number of new extra compact, ultra-efficient electrical sedans, wagons and even giant crossovers. They usually’ll have hybrid variations that includes batteries paired with a brand new high-efficiency four-cylinder engine.
Any approach you have a look at it, effectivity is the secret right here. The EQXX set new information for that on a number of events. A lot of the know-how from EQXX will dwell on within the CLA in some kind or one other, however Stegmaier mentioned there have been some enhancements, too.
Photograph by: InsideEVs
Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Prototype
“The CLA has an identical motor” to the EQXX, he mentioned, enhancements over the powertrain seen within the EQE and EQS overlaying not solely {hardware} design however softer stuff, just like the sorts of lubricants used inside. Stegmaier declined to elaborate on that however mentioned that the elemental idea of the battery and its electronics, that of “the one field,” continues on from the EQXX as properly.
With this design, Mercedes engineers positioned not solely the battery cells and thermal administration however a lot of the charging and controller infrastructure collectively right into a single part. It will certainly simplify manufacturing but additionally optimize area inside the Mercedes Modular Structure, or MMA, the platform that the CLA will roll upon.
Photograph by: Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes CLA MMA Platform
It additionally creates room for a frunk, which earlier fashions just like the EQE and EQS have lacked. “It’s a very compact motor out within the entrance,” Stegmaier mentioned. “So the compact design makes it doable to have a extremely fairly cool frunk.” Stegmaier would not give me a particular quantity, however by the sound of issues, a number of groceries or a backpack could be cheap.
However there will be different enhancements, too, together with an power density from the 85 kWh nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) pack that, Stegmaier says, is 20% larger than the corporate’s earlier cells.
The drivetrain configuration is considerably completely different from the EQ automobiles, too. Whereas the entrance motor association is comparable, a completely excited motor with a disconnect, the rear of the CLA depends on a two-speed transmission.
Photograph by: InsideEVs
Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Prototype
Stegmaier referred to as this method: “The guts of effectivity.” Two speeds allow the rear motor to function effectively at a larger vary of speeds.
Figuring out that EV transmissions are a controversial subject—particularly whether or not the extra complexity is worth it—I requested whether or not there was any inside debate about going with this strategy for the CLA. “It is not a simple determination as a result of, as you mentioned, it is also complicated and dear,” he mentioned. “However we had been very clear. We additionally wish to deliver that effectivity into the CLA, and there, the two-speed gearbox is totally mandatory.”
The result’s a automobile that, Stegmaier says, will cowl a whopping 5.2 miles per kWh and ship 93% effectivity. That ought to trump even the Lucid Air Pure as essentially the most environment friendly EV round. This efficiency, he mentioned, truly hampered his crew’s earlier testing within the Alps.
“There have been many occasions my crew was coming as much as me and saying, ‘We had an issue. We could not do any charging assessments as a result of we could not get the automobile empty,'” he mentioned.
Photograph by: InsideEVs
Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Prototype
PR-friendly testing issues apart, a part of that effectivity in steep terrain is because of considerably larger regen charges than earlier Mercedes-Benz EVs. The CLA is ready to generate as much as 200 kW below braking, or nearly thrice what a Tesla Mannequin 3 can do. Stegmaier declined to say what number of Gs the automobile can maintain below deceleration however did say that essentially the most aggressive of the three regen modes (D, D-, and D+) might be a correct one-pedal expertise, with the automobile coming to an entire cease.
That captured momentum will, after all, assist recharge the battery by way of the automobile’s 800-volt system. In terms of charging the old school approach, a 320 kW DC charger will allow grabbing 186 miles of cost in simply 10 minutes, a part of what helped the crew cowl over 2,300 miles in 24 hours in one more record-breaking run.
That charging will occur by way of a Tesla-style NACS plug, whereas a separate J1772 plug is there for slower duties. And, Stegmaier assured me that the facility will move each methods: “We’ll supply bidirectional charging, so you should use the CLA additionally as storage,” he mentioned.
Photograph by: Mercedes-Benz
That is a variety of excellent news for EV homeowners, however the adjustments lengthen past the {hardware} of the brand new platform. The CLA will show important software program revisions as properly, beginning with the MB.OS system operating within the dashboard.
The software program controlling these motors can be improved, one thing Stegmaier mentioned could be a boon in low-grip situations, such because the slippery, snowy check experience I obtained. Even in deep snow, the CLA’s dual-motor all-wheel-drive system did not skip a beat.
Once more, a lot of that is because of the learnings from the electrical EQXX, however many had been stunned to be taught that the platform it spawned, MMA, can even be used for a 48-volt hybrid.
Photograph by: InsideEVs
Mercedes MMA Platform Hybrid Engine
Mercedes has confirmed they may launch an inside combustion model of the CLA, and whereas that information dropped solely just lately, Stegmaier mentioned a hybrid was all the time a part of the plan: “It was from the start,” he mentioned, “as a result of we wish to supply each worlds, each buyer wants. So should you go to the store, you’ll purchase a CLA. The second query might be, which powertrain do you wish to select?”
That, then, raises the query of how these two CLAs might be differentiated available in the market. Each will merely be referred to as CLA, with Mercedes-Benz counting on its numerical nomenclature to establish the powertrains, very similar to with the present G-Class. There, the interior combustion fashions are G550 or AMG G63, whereas the electrical mannequin is the G580.
Photograph by: InsideEVs
I requested Stegmaier if there could be any important visible differentiators. “There are little, little or no, variations between the hybrid and the electrical automobile,” he mentioned, suggesting the grille therapy would be the largest differentiator.
Which means you’ll see greater than a bit of the design heritage of the ultra-efficient EQXX EV even within the gas-powered CLA. However the place that automobile featured a dramatic however considerably impractical form, with a protracted tail designed to assist aerodynamics, the CLA’s form might be extra pert, extra sensible.
And, if the CLA Idea is any indication, one thing way more engaging than Mercedes’ present EV choices.
16
Tim Stevens is a veteran editor, analyst, and skilled within the tech and automotive industries. He helmed CNET’s automotive protection for 9 years and acted as Vice President of Content material. Previous to that, Tim served as Editor-in-Chief at Engadget and even led a earlier life as an Enterprise Software program Architect. Comply with Tim on Twitter at @tim_stevens and catch his Substack.
