The Mercedes-Benz CLA Will Be A Vary And Effectivity Monster With EQXX Tech

Nearly three years in the past now, Mercedes-Benz confirmed off one thing that appeared able to doing the inconceivable. Dubbed the Imaginative and prescient EQXX, it had the identical dimension battery as a Mercedes EQS, simply 30% lighter and taking on half as a lot house. Its electrical motor was a lot smaller than most with its energy output. It was aerodynamic sufficient to make a fighter jet seem like a college bus.

Put all these improvements collectively, and Mercedes had a automotive that might drive 747 miles on a single cost—sure, actually—or 627 miles within the warmth of a Saudi Arabian desert. And it delivered groundbreaking electrical effectivity of as much as 8.5 miles per kilowatt-hour, virtually twice pretty much as good as right now’s finest EVs.

At different automakers, this venture would have stayed a mere science experiment. Not so at Mercedes-Benz, the place certainly one of its prime engineers just lately advised me the automotive’s know-how will straight translate to its most necessary EV but: the brand new CLA-Class.

Timo Stegmaier, Mercedes head of e-drive compact/midsize and system validation, additionally labored on Mercedes-Benz’s groundbreaking EQXX venture and has been answerable for bringing most of the learnings from there into the virtually production-ready CLA. 

Picture by: InsideEVs

Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Prototype

“The world-record EQXX, it was essential for us with the automotive to affect collection manufacturing,” Stegmaier mentioned of the long-tailed prototype machine. “It was very nice not solely doing a showcase with the EQXX, it was fairly cool additionally right here within the CLA.” 

The brand new CLA-Class shall be a vital mannequin for Mercedes-Benz. Its first go at EVs, the EQ-branded sedans and SUVs, didn’t actually make a splash within the market as anticipated. Future Mercedes electrical fashions are actually mentioned to look way more like their acquainted gas-powered counterparts. And like different automakers, Mercedes can also be pushing again its all-electric targets as gross sales show uneven.

However it might’t hand over on EVs solely. Mercedes faces intense electrical competitors in, and now from, China. It has strict emissions and gasoline financial system requirements to satisfy globally. And the corporate lengthy recognized for innovation doesn’t wish to cede that management to anybody. So the CLA-Class would be the first of a number of new extra compact, ultra-efficient electrical sedans, wagons and even giant crossovers. And so they’ll have hybrid variations that includes batteries paired with a brand new high-efficiency four-cylinder engine. 

Any means you take a look at it, effectivity is the secret right here. The EQXX set new data for that on a number of events. A lot of the know-how from EQXX will stay on within the CLA in some kind or one other, however Stegmaier mentioned there have been some enhancements, too. 

Picture by: InsideEVs

Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Prototype

“The CLA has an identical motor” to the EQXX, he mentioned, enhancements over the powertrain seen within the EQE and EQS masking not solely {hardware} design however softer stuff, just like the varieties of lubricants used inside. Stegmaier declined to elaborate on that however mentioned that the basic idea of the battery and its electronics, that of “the one field,” continues on from the EQXX as nicely.

With this design, Mercedes engineers positioned not solely the battery cells and thermal administration however a lot of the charging and controller infrastructure collectively right into a single element. This may absolutely simplify manufacturing but in addition optimize house inside the Mercedes Modular Structure, or MMA, the platform that the CLA will roll upon.

Picture by: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes CLA MMA Platform

It additionally creates room for a frunk, which earlier fashions just like the EQE and EQS have lacked. “It’s a very compact motor out within the entrance,” Stegmaier mentioned. “So the compact design makes it doable to have a very fairly cool frunk.” Stegmaier would not give me a particular quantity, however by the sound of issues, just a few groceries or a backpack could be affordable.

However there will be different enhancements, too, together with an power density from the 85 kWh nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) pack that, Stegmaier says, is 20% greater than the corporate’s earlier cells.

The drivetrain configuration is considerably totally different from the EQ vehicles, too. Whereas the entrance motor association is analogous, a completely excited motor with a disconnect, the rear of the CLA depends on a two-speed transmission. 

Picture by: InsideEVs

Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Prototype

Stegmaier known as this method: “The center of effectivity.” Two speeds allow the rear motor to function effectively at a better vary of speeds. 

Figuring out that EV transmissions are a controversial matter—particularly whether or not the extra complexity is worth it—I requested whether or not there was any inner debate about going with this method for the CLA. “It isn’t a simple resolution as a result of, as you mentioned, it is also complicated and expensive,” he mentioned. “However we had been very clear. We additionally wish to deliver that effectivity into the CLA, and there, the two-speed gearbox is completely needed.”

The result’s a automotive that, Stegmaier says, will cowl a whopping 5.2 miles per kWh and ship 93% effectivity. That ought to trump even the Lucid Air Pure as essentially the most environment friendly EV round. This efficiency, he mentioned, truly hampered his staff’s earlier testing within the Alps.

“There have been many instances my staff was coming as much as me and saying, ‘We had an issue. We could not do any charging assessments as a result of we could not get the automotive empty,'” he mentioned. 

Picture by: InsideEVs

Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Prototype

PR-friendly testing issues apart, a part of that effectivity in steep terrain is due to considerably greater regen charges than earlier Mercedes-Benz EVs. The CLA is ready to generate as much as 200 kW below braking, or virtually thrice what a Tesla Mannequin 3 can do. Stegmaier declined to say what number of Gs the automotive can maintain below deceleration however did say that essentially the most aggressive of the three regen modes (D, D-, and D+) shall be a correct one-pedal expertise, with the automotive coming to an entire cease. 

That captured momentum will, after all, assist recharge the battery through the automotive’s 800-volt system. In relation to charging the old style means, a 320 kW DC charger will allow grabbing 186 miles of cost in simply 10 minutes, a part of what helped the staff cowl over 2,300 miles in 24 hours in one more record-breaking run. 

That charging will occur through a Tesla-style NACS plug, whereas a separate J1772 plug is there for slower duties. And, Stegmaier assured me that the facility will circulate each methods: “We are going to provide bidirectional charging, so you need to use the CLA additionally as storage,” he mentioned.

Picture by: Mercedes-Benz

That is loads of excellent news for EV homeowners, however the modifications prolong past the {hardware} of the brand new platform. The CLA will show vital software program revisions as nicely, beginning with the MB.OS system operating within the dashboard.

The software program controlling these motors can also be improved, one thing Stegmaier mentioned could be a boon in low-grip circumstances, such because the slippery, snowy take a look at journey I obtained. Even in deep snow, the CLA’s dual-motor all-wheel-drive system did not skip a beat. 

Once more, a lot of that is due to the learnings from the electrical EQXX, however many had been shocked to be taught that the platform it spawned, MMA, may also be used for a 48-volt hybrid.

Picture by: InsideEVs

Mercedes MMA Platform Hybrid Engine

Mercedes has confirmed they may launch an inner combustion model of the CLA, and whereas that information dropped solely just lately, Stegmaier mentioned a hybrid was all the time a part of the plan: “It was from the start,” he mentioned, “as a result of we wish to provide each worlds, each buyer wants. So should you go to the store, you’ll purchase a CLA. The second query shall be, which powertrain do you wish to select?”

That, then, raises the query of how these two CLAs shall be differentiated out there. Each will merely be known as CLA, with Mercedes-Benz counting on its numerical nomenclature to establish the powertrains, very like with the present G-Class. There, the interior combustion fashions are G550 or AMG G63, whereas the electrical mannequin is the G580. 

Picture by: InsideEVs

I requested Stegmaier if there could be any vital visible differentiators. “There are little, little or no, variations between the hybrid and the electrical automotive,” he mentioned, suggesting the grille therapy would be the largest differentiator. 

Which means you can see greater than slightly of the design heritage of the ultra-efficient EQXX EV even within the gas-powered CLA. However the place that automotive featured a dramatic however considerably impractical form, with a protracted tail designed to assist aerodynamics, the CLA’s form shall be extra pert, extra sensible.

And, if the CLA Idea is any indication, one thing much more engaging than Mercedes’ present EV choices. 

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Tim Stevens is a veteran editor, analyst, and knowledgeable within the tech and automotive industries. He helmed CNET’s automotive protection for 9 years and acted as Vice President of Content material. Previous to that, Tim served as Editor-in-Chief at Engadget and even led a earlier life as an Enterprise Software program Architect. Comply with Tim on Twitter at @tim_stevens and catch his Substack.