Celebs Attend All-New 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA Unveil, As Benz Reboots EV Strategy

The all-new 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA is a small car with huge implications for the brand’s electric future. Last month in Rome, the CLA debuted with all the pomp and circumstance you’d expect from Benz; Daniel Caesar, Ice Spice and Romeo Beckham were all on hand for the multimedia spectacle. Choreographed dancers frolicked around the new cars. But, beneath the glitzy surface of this launch lies something more significant, a tacit admission by Mercedes that it needed a new approach to electrification.

To that end, the CLA is completely different from all the Mercedes EVs that have come before it. The changes start with its name; it’s not the EQ-something like the brand’s previous EVs — the EQS and EQE families — it’s simply the CLA.

For another thing, it’ll be available as both a pure EV and a hybrid, but both models look the same. Again, that’s an about face from Mercedes’ previous strategy that had the full-size electric EQS sedan looking and feeling completely different from the S-Class, its combustion-engine counterpart. Mercedes is now embracing a unified design language, regardless of what’s under the hood. You can see that language on the new all-electric G-Class, and on the CLA. The battery-powered models simply have “with EQ Technology” tacked onto the end of their nameplates. It’s a mouthful, but at least the nomenclature is easy to understand.

Of course, the changes are about much more than naming conventions and styling.

“It marks the beginning of a new era for Mercedes-Benz and for our customers: The CLA will be the most efficient and the most intelligent Mercedes we’ve ever made,” declared Ola Källenius, chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz.

And there’s more where that came from. “[The all-new CLA] is the first in a series of new models we’re adding to the Mercedes-Benz family,” Källenius added.

The importantance of this little car to the brand is hard to overstate.

Dual Powertrains

This dual-powertrain approach signals a notable scaling back of Mercedes’ previous all-in electric ambitions. Just two years ago, the company boldly proclaimed it would be “all-electric by 2030 where market conditions allow.” Today’s more measured strategy suggests the luxury automaker has recognized that the transition to electric vehicles might take longer than originally anticipated.

The all-electric CLA 250+ with EQ Technology draws direct inspiration from the EQXX concept car, which made headlines in 2022 for its slippery shape and remarkable aerodynamic efficiency. Utilizing an 800-volt architecture — the same technology found in Porsche’s Taycan — the CLA promises to address one of the most significant pain points for EV adoption: charging speed.

Mercedes claims the electric CLA can add up to 325 kilometres of range in just 10 minutes, assuming you’re plugging into a suitable public fast-charging station.

More impressive is the maximum range of 792 kilometres on a single charge. Bear in mind this is a European figure (based on the WLTP test cycle) and that the U.S. and Canadian number (based on the EPA and NRCan test cycles) will be lower, but this is still an incredibly impressive range for such a compact car. For context, the midsize Mercedes EQE sedans only get around 450 kilometres of a range.

The all-electric CLA 250+ with EQ Technology is expected to hit Canadian showrooms later this year, while the hybrid model will land in 2026. Details are scant on the hybrid powertrain, but we know it’ll have a combustion engine working on concert with a 48-volt electrical system.

Smart Technology

The new CLA is the first vehicle to fully operate on the proprietary “AI-enhanced” Mercedes‑Benz Operating System (MB.OS) which is powered by AI models from Microsoft and Google. The company promises the AI-enhancements to the infotainment system open up, “a new world of personalised experiences and intuitive interaction between human and vehicle.” But, what all that actually looks like in person, we’ve got no idea.

The new system operates on the optional MBUX Superscreen. It dominates the futuristic-looking cabin, which was inspired by “the design principle of a Zen garden — the art of reducing everything down to the essentials,” according to the brand. Extensive use of recycled materials, from seat covers to floor coverings made from 100 percent recycled Econyl yarn. Mercedes also touts the CLA’s sustainability credentials, claiming a 40 percent reduction in carbon footprint compared to its predecessor.

“This new CLA is the cleverest car we’ve ever made and sets new standards for now and into the future,” said Bettina Fetzer, vice president of Mercedes-Benz digital & communications.

In other words, expect to see the Superscreen, recycled materials and AI-enhanced MB.OS system rolling out to future Mercedes models in the not-to-distant future. Whether this reboot will successfully position Mercedes for the future or simply represent another detour on the road to electrification remains an open question, but we like what we’ve seen of the new CLA so far, and we expect it’ll resonate more easily with those luxury car buyers who have been hesitant to go fully electric.

See more news on the 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA online.

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