2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA: Everything we know about the electric and mild-hybrid sedan – UPDATE

UPDATE, November 2024: The first official details of the 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA have been confirmed, including information on its electric and mild-hybrid power options. This story has been updated to reflect the latest information.

The next-generation Mercedes-Benz CLA will double down on electrification as the first model from the German brand on its new Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA).

Set to debut next year, the 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA has been developed as an ‘electric-first’ model with a battery-electric version to rival the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 – along with the large number of battery-powered sedans offered in China.

However internal-combustion power will be retained in some markets with the CLA – initially launching as a 'four-door coupe' sedan, then a Shooting Brake wagon – with a mild-hybrid four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine.

Mercedes-Benz is gearing up for the reveal of the new model with the brand recently showcasing a camouflaged example at the International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories in Hyères, France, followed by a teaser video (embedded above) with brand CEO Ola Källenius.

Here is everything we know about the new 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA:

The 2026 CLA was previewed with the Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA unveiled at the 2023 Munich motor show in Germany. 

While the showroom version will be toned down with smaller wheels, larger mirrors, and visible pop-out door handles, it will retain the fundamental design of the concept car including its star-patterned grille and light signatures.

It will be an evolution of the current second-generation CLA – plus added inspiration from the swoopy Vision EQXX concept – with a new-look grille, angular headlamps connected by a light band, and a longer wheelbase than today’s CLA. 

A newly-developed mild-hybrid petrol engine has been confirmed for the new CLA.

The 1.5-litre 'M252 FAME' will be offered in three tunes at launch – 100kW, 120kW or 140kW – with standard front-wheel drive and optional '4Matic' all-wheel drive, paired to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and mild-hybrid tech.

The 48-volt mild-hybrid system uses a gearbox-mounted integrated starter motor to trim fuel economy and carbon emissions – while providing a small boost under hard acceleration.

Mercedes-Benz says the petrol CLA will meet the Euro 7 emissions standard, with a 12:0:1 compression ratio, Miller combustion cycle, 1.3kWh battery with an integrated DC-DC converter, regenerative braking, and the ability to drive with electricity only at low speeds for very short distances.

A plug-in hybrid version of the new CLA is not planned, and diesel engines have not been announced.

With the MMA platform focused on electric vehicles – components to accommodate an engine were added later, rather than the reverse – any compromises in the packaging and design of the CLA are said to be felt in the petrol-engined models, not the electric ones.

The electric CLA will have an 85kWh silicon-oxide-anode battery at launch – said to be 20 per cent more energy-dense than before – in top-of-the-range models, with a 58kWh usable lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery for entry-level variants due to follow.

For improved efficiency, Mercedes-Benz will adopt the cell-to-pack (CTP) production principle also used by Tesla to integrate the cells directly into the battery pack – rather than placing the cells inside modules, which are subsequently mounted within the pack.

The brand has confirmed an average energy consumption of 12kWh/100km – among the best in the current electric-car market – with a driving range of 750km for the 82kWh long-range variant under European WLTP testing. 

It uses an 800-volt charging architecture – also seen in other EVs like the Porsche Taycan and Hyundai Ioniq 5 – with a 320kW maximum DC fast-charge speed for variants with the larger 82kWh battery.

Adding 36kWh of charge – about 42 per cent of the battery's total capacity – is said to take 10 minutes at a 320kW station. 

Bi-directional charging capability will be included with vehicle-to-home (V2H), vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-load (V2L) support.

In single-motor rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor all-wheel-drive form, the CLA will use a two-speed gearbox similar to the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT to improve acceleration and efficiency, with the second gear ratio used for highway driving.

The compact asynchronous unit delivers up to 200kW to the rear wheels, with non-AMG all-wheel-drive models adding an 80kW front motor that can automatically decouple in 200 milliseconds for improved efficiency.

Other outputs are tipped to be offered, including a 150kW base rear-wheel drive and up to 400kW in a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive AMG CLA top-of-the-range model.

Inside, the new CLA will follow the concept car with three screens on the dashboard: an instrument cluster, a central infotainment touchscreen, and a front passenger display.

It will use Mercedes-Benz’s new proprietary “chip-to-cloud” MB.OS operating system with embedded Google-based maps and services, improved smartphone mirroring, downloadable applications, and full integration with electric drive systems.

The CLA will include ‘Level 2 Plus’ semi-autonomous driving technology at launch; the concept uses ‘Level 3’ but this will not be offered in the initial showroom version.

Level 2 Plus allows for additional hands-free features – such as automated lane changes – but the driver remains in full legal control of the vehicle, while under Level 3 drivers can legally take their hands off the steering wheel and eyes off the road in certain environments.

A child presence detection system will be fitted to the CLA with sensors and cameras to detect breathing patterns when the vehicle is locked. 

The vehicle will trigger the air-conditioning and sound the horn when it detects movement if the driver does not respond to initial warnings from the car. 

An Australian launch for the third-generation Mercedes-Benz CLA sedan is expected towards the end of 2025, or in the first months of 2026. 

It is likely to be offered in mild-hybrid and battery-electric forms in Australia.

The CLA sedan will be followed by a CLA Shooting Brake wagon, along with successors to the current GLA/EQA and GLB/EQB SUVs also based on the MMA platform.

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class hatchback will be discontinued when production of the current-generation models ends around 2026. The B-Class will also be axed.

Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.

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