2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA Unravels Before CGI Crowd

Mercedes recently took to a fashion and photography festival in France to offer a glimpse of the next-generation CLA. The upcoming model will stick to the ICE recipe, and a battery-electric derivative will join the family in a premiere.
 

Looks-wise, the 2026 Mercedes CLA will be very similar to the two generations that preceded it. It retains that famous sleek profile with a sloping roofline arched toward the rear and will have a bigger grille that seems to have been inspired by the CLA Concept unveiled in 2023. The headlights are also similar, and there’s no star-infused pattern here, which is quite strange. The full-width light strip appears to have been left out of the production variant.
 
Further back, we can see that the brand’s rival to the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe has broad shoulders (for a premium subcompact sedan). Circular LED signatures are visible in the all-new headlights, and from what we can tell, there might just be a light strip linking them together. The trunk lid has an incorporated ducktail spoiler, and the three-pointed star logo decorates it. Further down, the new bumper hosts the license plate, and a pair of reflectors flank it.
 
Beneath the fresh skin lies the company’s MMA architecture. The platform is versatile and supports ICE and EV models. As specified above, the all-new 2026 Mercedes CLA will feature both. The ICE lineup is understood to comprise four-cylinder offerings solely, some or perhaps all with electric assistance. The EV might get the 800V tech with charging speeds of up to 250 kW, meaning that a recharge shouldn’t take long at fast-charging stations.
 

The rumor mill also suggests a hot AMG version of the electric car, perhaps offering more than 500 horsepower. If correct, then it will be significantly punchier than the outgoing Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S. This model enjoys 415 horsepower (421 ps/310 kW) and puts 369 pound-foot (500 Nm) of torque under the driver’s right foot. A naught to sixty-two mph (100 kph) sprint takes roughly four seconds, and it taps out at 167 mph (270 kph).
 
As expected, the German carmaker should release more details about the all-new CLA in the coming months. The unveiling should take place next year, and the first copies will likely touch down in our market for the 2026 model year. Meanwhile, the rendering crowd has started revealing its visuals using a decent dose of CGI.
 
The peeps at Kolesa looked at the pre-production car Mercedes recently presented and peeled off the fake skin, revealing what may lie beneath it. For what it’s worth, the car looks like an evolution of its predecessor, and the real thing might look very similar to these renderings. So, do you like it?