This is the new Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA Class, an all-electric prototype that opens a new era for the brand.
And everything you see here, from the powertrain down to the operating system of the sat nav, is made in-house.
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Mercedes calls this a ‘hypermiler’.
This is because thanks to its 800V architecture, the car is capable of driving for 750 km (466 miles) on a charge.
More importantly, it only takes 15 minutes to go from 0 to 248 miles of range.
Exceedingly long charging times are still one of the main issues with EVs, and this puts the CLA in a Class of its own.
Pun intended.
Now, this is a concept car so some of the visual cues you see here might be gone by the time the production version is here.
However, the new low-energy LED lights with the animated star pattern and the expansive glass roof are here to stay.
Mercedes says this is part of a new design language we can expect to see with many of its upcoming models.
Inside, there are two key features we need to talk about.
First, there’s a new infotainment system that runs on an operating system that Mercedes patented.
They call it MB.OS and it integrates artificial intelligence.
Second, and most important of all, Mercedes came up with a new safety feature called Child Presence Detection, or CPD for short.
It mitigates risk of children being left in the vehicle by mistake when it’s too hot outside.
The Concept CLA Class, the name gives it away, is first and foremost a preview of what the next-gen CLA will look like.
However, the Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) is built on will also be used on a swathe of future models.
So stay tuned.
