What we assumed has come true. Mercedes will not only drop the B-Class but also the A-Class. In the future, the Mercedes CLA will be the entry-level model from Mercedes.
We have announced several times in the last year that the Mercedes A-Class hatch, sedan, and B-Class will not have a successor. Markus Schafer, Chief Technology Officer, has officially confirmed that Mercedes is not working on an A-Class successor. As such, production of the current-generation A-Class will end at the end of 2025 and there will be no more compact hatch in the Mercedes lineup.
Thus, after the discreet facelift in October 2022, nothing will follow. Also disappearing with the Mercedes A-Class will be the most powerful compact hot hatch with a 4-cylinder engine, the AMG A 45 AMG, which develops 421 PS.
Nor will the Mercedes B-Class have a successor after the current generation’s lifecycle ends in 2026.
The decision to drop the A and B-Class was foreseeable a long time ago as we have written here before. Back in 2022, Mercedes CEO Ola Kallenius announced that Mercedes would focus on luxury models and that the number of models in the entry-level range would be reduced from seven to four.
Mercedes also mentioned at the unveiling of the new CLA that it would mark its entry into the Mercedes world. The new Mercedes CLA is the first model to inaugurate the new MMA multi-propulsion platform and is available as a sedan with a length of 4.72 meters and as a shooting brake that will be presented towards the end of the year.
The new MMA platform is designed as Electric first and not Electric Only. The electric version was unveiled a couple of days ago and the version with mild hybrid technology will be available in a couple of months.
The Mercedes CLA will also be available in an AMG version equipped with an evolution of the AMG A 45 2-liter turbocharged engine that will most likely get 48V mild hybrid technology.
Along with the Mercedes CLA and CLA Shooting Brake, the compact range will be completed by the GLA (ICE and electric) and GLB (ICE and electric). In addition, in 2026 Mercedes will present a baby G-Class but it is not yet known if it will use the MMA platform or a platform derived from the G-Class.