Mercedes has a strong presence at the 2023 IAA Mobility in Munich this week by showing a multitude of cars, including the Concept CLA Class celebrating its world premiere. The swoopy sedan will be part of a revamped compact car lineup that will be downsized to only four members. The other upcoming cars were vaguely teased during the debut event for the CLA as the three-pointed star showed three design sketches in the background.
Company CEO Ola Källenius took the stage to announce which shape these are going to take: a shooting brake and two "stunning" SUVs. The former is likely to be a wagon to replace today's not-a-shooting-brake CLA Shooting Brake while the high-riding models are expected to supersede the GLA and GLB. There's no word about what will happen to the A-Class hatchback, A-Class sedan, and the B-Class minivan but their future doesn't look bright.
These four new cars will ride on the Mercedes Modular Architecture, which will be electric-first but not electric-only. Indeed, MMA is being engineered to accommodate combustion engines as well, but this time around, the German luxury brand has said the compromise will be made on the ICE side rather than on the EV side as is the case with the EQA and EQB.
Lest we forget Mercedes' head honcho also announced a "Little G" during the press conference at 2023 IAA. It too is expected to ride on the MMA platform but will arrive later, possibly around 2026. Ola Källenius says it's going to be "instantly recognizable" as well as "extremely capable on and off the road." In a LinkedIn post, the boss mentioned the smaller G-Class will "honor the original icon" while being "a lot of fun to drive."
The next-gen CLA will lead the way for Mercedes' MMA architecture, and it should be the most efficient of the lot given its sleek body. The near-production concept promises more than 466 miles (750 kilometers) in the WLTP cycle and just 15 minutes of charging for 248 miles (400 kilometers) of range. MMA supports bidirectional charging, dual-motor AWD, 250-kW charging, and ushers in the Mercedes-Benz Operating System developed in-house.
