- The 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA will be available as an EV and hybrid
- The electric CLA will be able to add 186 miles of range in 10 minutes
- It may be the first EV to feature both CCS and NACS charge ports
Mercedes-Benz still views the future as electric, though the timeline for the transition’s become a bit fuzzier and longer than anticipated.
When it arrives next year, the electric 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA will be the first of four new models (three of them U.S.-bound) on the next-gen MMA EV-dedicated platform. With two charge ports, high-power fast charging capabilities, a more advanced electrical architecture, new in-house designed motors, a 2-speed transmission, and a hybrid powertrain option, it’s the genesis of Mercedes’ forthcoming scalable lineup.
Mercedes-Benz CLA
2026 Mercedes CLA will include CCS and NACS charge ports
The electrical architecture of the CLA is future-proofed thanks to a new in-house designed 800-volt electrical architecture. Mercedes said the system has a peak charge rate of 320 kw, but more importantly it can recover 186 miles of range in 10 minutes when fast-charged starting at a 10% state-of-charge. Mercedes said that’s approximately 36 kwh of energy in 10 minutes. It’ll take less than 22 minutes to go from 10-80% state-of-charge, according to Mercedes.
Home charging will utilize an 11.0-kw onboard charger—likely good for an eight-hour overnight charge with the U.S.-spec model’s 85.0-kwh usable capacity.
Mercedes engineers revealed that when the CLA launches in the U.S. it’ll have two charging ports under a single charge-port door. One will be a CCS port while the other will be a NACS (Tesla) port.
They said this is for the benefit of the customer, because who wants an adapter that can get lost or broken? Powertrain and rolling chassis units that were shown only had a CCS port and no visuals were yet shown of the two charging ports side-by-side.
Mercedes-Benz CLA
Mercedes EVs to use a 2-speed transmission and new electric motors
Mercedes designed and developed a new electric drive unit, dubbed EDU 2.0 (Electric Drive Unit 2.0). These motors are the first of a new family of BEV powertrains just as Mercedes has created families of gas-powered engines. The motors are said to be scalable and future iterations are coming, presumably for the AMG and heavier crossover SUV variants.
Single-motor rear-wheel-drive CLAs will feature a 200-kw permanently synchronous motor (PSM) in the rear with 268 hp. All-wheel drive 4Matic models will add an 80-kw motor motor to the front axle and be engaged during acceleration or when slip is detected. Both motors feature silicon carbide inverters.
The CLA will be the first, but not the last, Mercedes EV to feature a 2-speed transmission. Engineers expect most of the automaker’s upcoming and future EVs to have the additional complexity in the name of smoothness and efficiency.
The motor (EDU 2.0), transmission, and power electronics are all packaged in one housing.
First gear has an 11:1 ratio and maxes out at 68 mph while second gear switches to a 5:1 ratio with a top speed of 130 mph. Second gear is used for highway driving and cruising while first gear is designed for dynamic and low-speed driving. A dry friction-based clutch is utilized to engage first gear while a dog clutch is used to engage second gear to ensure the average consumer won’t feel the transmission shifting and engaging at various speeds, according to Mercedes engineers.
Mercedes-Benz CLA
Mercedes rethinks its regenerative braking system
Mercedes engineers are aware the two-stage blended brake system in the EQS (and EQS) is far from ideal.
The MMA platform, and specifically new CLA, use Mercedes’ next-gen regenerative braking system. It’s still a two-stage blended system, but engineers claim it operates differently than today’s system in the EQS.
The car will use regenerative braking until it can’t recuperate quickly enough or conditions necessary don’t allow it (battery is too full, too cold, too hot, etc.) before engaging the friction brakes. Up to 200 kw of recuperation is possible, according to Mercedes.
Unlike in the EQS and EQE models, the brake pedal will not move on its own when the car’s using regenerative braking.
One-pedal driving will be enabled by some of the four levels of regen, dubbed D- (one-pedal driving), D, D+ (least amount of reg), and D Auto. Engineers said the car will remember the selected regenerative brake setting upon key cycle and won’t change until a user changes the system, unlike today’s car.
Mercedes-Benz CLA
Every U.S. CLA gets an NMC battery pack
In other markets the entry-level CLA will feature a 58.0-kwh (usable) LFP battery pack. The U.S. market won’t get this battery as it won’t meet U.S. needs in terms of range, according to a Mercedes spokesperson.
The U.S.-spec CLA will come standard with the larger 85.0-kwh (usable) nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery pack. Engineers said that’s 96% of the pack’s capacity, making gross capacity 88.5 kwh.
Both packs use prismatic cells rather than pouch or cylindrical cells. Engineers said this route was taken for the best use of volume, dimensions, and stability. The new chemistry features silicon anode materials to increase energy density.
Upcoming AMG models will utilize their own distinct battery pack.
Battery software and integration was all developed in-house and will continue to be done in-house. Markus Shäfer, a member of Mercedes Group AG’s board and the automaker’s Chief Technology Officer, said full vertical integration is key to the automaker’s future. The hardware and software all have to work hand-in-hand. That’s why Mercedes now, for the first time in history, has a Chief Software Officer in the C-Suite.
The system is capable of bi-directional charging, applied to home (V2H) and grid (V2G) situations.
Mercedes-Benz CLA
2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA ushers in the MMA platform
The MMA platform is a new clean-sheet BEV platform. Mercedes engineers said the platform, and battery pack, are both scalable. The expectation is that more than 90% of future Mercedes’ models will be based on a common battery platform.
The entire package is modular with uniformly designed battery components, which serve as the core element of the platform. The battery pack isn’t structural in the same way as a Tesla Model Y, where the battery serves as the vehicle’s floor and seats bolt to the pack. But the battery pack is part of the vehicle’s safety structure.
Every MMA-based Mercedes EV will feature a heat pump.
Mercedes said two crossover SUVs will follow the CLA. Between the lines of a wink and a nod they may directly replace the GLA and GLB crossover SUVs. Then comes the CLA Shooting Brake, which won’t come to the U.S. because we can’t have nice things.
There’s at least one example of an engineering flaw baked in from the start. Because the MMA platform was originally envisioned as a dedicated BEV modular architecture, and during the planning process a hybrid powertrain was baked in, the front electric motor shares mounting points with the hybrid model’s gas engine. This leads to the electric motor sitting higher than it would otherwise need to. It will lead to the CLA having a frunk capable of probably holding only a small briefcase.
Mercedes-Benz CLA powertrain
A hybrid CLA option will live alongside the EV
In the hybrid, a new 1.5-liter turbo-4 sits under the hood and hooks to an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic with a 27-hp electric motor sandwiched between the motor and transmission. Total system output is 187 hp. A 1.3-kwh lithium-ion battery pack is mounted beneath the driver seat, and the entire system runs on 48-volts.
Mercedes said the system is capable of driving on electric-only power or sailing at speeds of up to 62 mph.
All the gears of the 8-speed automatic transmission can be used for recuperation to harvest up to 25 kw of energy back into the battery pack. Mercedes said this won’t be a plug-in hybrid.
Hybrid models will be front-wheel drive, but all-wheel drive will be available with a driveshaft and electronically-disconnecting clutch.
Mercedes-Benz CLA powertrain
Mercedes engineers said that a 1.5-liter inline-4 was chosen over a turbo-3 due to noise, harshness, and vibration concerns. The new engine weighs 17% less than the outgoing 2.0-liter turbo-4 in today’s CLA. While that engine has a belt starter-generator, the new engine does away with that as well as any traditional starter and alternator, with those functions being handled by the electric motor. A 12:1 compression ratio enables an efficient Miller cycle, and a newly designed manifold integrates the exhaust-gas turbocharger directly into the plumbing to save weight and space.
No fuel economy projections were provided, but engineers said the target is “diesel-like fuel consumption.”
Mercedes-Benz hasn’t announced pricing, range, equipment or final specs for the 2026 CLA EV or Hybrid. That information will come at the official reveal and closer to the launch.
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Mercedes-Benz paid for travel and lodging along with some German pretzels for Green Car Reports to bring you this firsthand report