Initially, Mercedes-Benz will offer the 268-horsepower CLA 250+ with rear-wheel drive and the performance-oriented 349-horsepower CLA 350 4MATIC with all-wheel drive. That’s far more potent than the 221-horsepower four-cylinder mild hybrid driveline offered for 2025.

Mercedes-Benz CLA may be an entry-level model, but it's leading the way with new tech and EV hardware improvements.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox

Mercedes-Benz CLA sedan will come as both an EV and a hybrid, and feature over-the-air updates and AI-based infotainment.

Mercedes is also bucking the traditional method of introducing a new platform as an ICE vehicle and then wedging the design into an EV platform. Instead, the company is going “EV first,” launching the CLA as an EV first and then later as an internal combustion with a mild hybrid in 2026.

Mercedes Benz showcased the CLA Concept at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025, in India. Now the brand has revealed a few details about it, which you must check out.

The German automaker's newest entry-level model carries the company's legacy into an electrified, and hybridized, future.

The new CLA also marks a change in strategy for Mercedes. Rather than have different line-ups for electric cars – badged EQ – the CLA is available as an EV with two versions and a full hybrid with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine and small battery. In a further twist, Mercedes has said that both petrol and EV models should be priced similarly.