Peter Lyon
January 1, 2025
EV fans—we finally have a luxury car that can clear 1200km on one charge, or at least according to its maker. It’s the Mercedes Benz CLA. The project’s engineers claim that the new electric CLA can go 1,270 kilometres (789 miles) between recharge breaks of only ten minutes each. Mercedes boasts that the car can “add 300 km in 10 minutes” thanks to its large 85kWh battery, the new MMA platform’s state-of-the-art 800v electrical architecture, and its incredibly quick charging capabilities.
Mercedes recently disclosed that the CLA had driven 2,309 miles in a 24-hour period at the Nardo Technical Centre in southern Italy while under test conditions, averaging 155 km/h. The car has been charged “40 times, with each charging break being 10 minutes,” said to Timo Stegmaier, senior manager for the CLA’s electric drive system.
Naturally, the car would not have been approaching its approved 466-mile WLTP range at such a high average speed throughout the course of the 24-hour period. Therefore, the number of miles it might have added in ten minutes would have been significantly less than the 186 miles that were reported under typical circumstances.
Stegmaier stated the engineers “used a normal charging station” and “regularly saw 320kW charging infrastructure” during the record run, which is comparable to the kind of numbers promised by the far more expensive Porsche Taycan. However, he did not disclose the car’s charging curve or any intended peak charge speed.
“Clearly, the 320 [kW] peak will not be sustained,” he stated. “It’s an extremely significant and captivating KPI for the client, but we are unable to discuss how long you will have or how the curve looks.”
Prior to its arrival in the UK in late 2024, the new CLA was scheduled to be fully unveiled in the spring. Mercedes recently revealed that the CLA would also be available with a hybrid powertrain on the multi-fuel MMA platform; the 2026 model year will see the release of this type.
A new Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake and GLA and GLB successors, together with its electric EQA and EQB counterparts, will follow the four-door.
Future Mercedes EVs, however, will not use the manufacturer’s EQ branding—at least not in the traditional sense, as we revealed earlier this year. Therefore, it is more possible that the next generation of electric cars will be branded as “GLA with EQ Technology,” for instance, putting the EQA (and EQB) in the annals of history after only one generation.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
We finally have definitive news that a compact Mercedes with the latest charging capabilities and 800V architecture, can travel over 1200 kms on one charge, or should we say—on a 20-minute charge. Although, we do need to take this news with a grain of salt or at least until we can verify this claim in the real world. I have a feeling that the car does have game-changing capabilities but that a figure of around 950-1000 kms range is more realistic.
