2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA: Petrol or electric power, near-production concept debuting next month

A nearly completed example of the next 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA will debut at the Munich motor show next month.

Based on the new MMA platform, short for Mercedes Modular Architecture, the next CLA will be available in liftback, shooting brake and China-only long-wheelbase form, joining the next GLA and GLB SUVs.

Also due to join the line-up is the new GLG off-road-focused small-to-medium SUV, which could mimic the angular shoebox design of the full-size G-Wagen and cost up to €80,000 fully optioned (AU$134,000).

The barely-profitable Mercedes-Benz A-Class hatch and sedan will be axed at the end of the current lifecycle, with the new CLA to act as the brand's new entry model as it pursues higher margins.

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The next CLA reportedly costs €10K more (AU$18,000) than the outgoing five-door in base trim and will grow 100 millimetres to around 4800mm, more than a C-Class.

A similar price rise is expected to hit the even more popular GLA small SUV.

What happens to the EQ prefix?

We've omitted it here for clarity because, at the end of the day, EVs will take over and the traditional nomenclature is bound to return.

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As an interim solution, MMA denotes electric first, not electric only, like the five standalone EA architectures for the EQA, EQB, EQE and EQS line-ups and the soon-to-be-discontinued EQC mid-size SUV (to be replaced by an MMA-based EQC SUV, with the EQC badge for a C-Class-size electric sedan).

For MMA-based vehicles, including the new CLA and GLA, 'electric first' is another way of saying that the petrol-fed M254 four-cylinder and its high-performance M188 counterpart will prevail – but diesel bites the dust.

In terms of power output, battery-fed small Mercedes will be good for up to 400kW, the electric C-Class range stretches to 500kW, the EV-only E-Class plateaus at 600kW, and the next S-Class has a ceiling of 700kW (make that 780kW for the AMG edition).

– with additional reporting by Jordan Hickey.