2026 Mercedes CLA Production Begins At Rastatt Plant

Production of the new Mercedes CLA (C174) began on June 4 at the Rastatt plant, which currently manufactures all types of powertrains.
 

The Rastatt plant is the first Mercedes facility to start production of a model based on the new multi-powertrain MMA platform. As such, the Rastatt location will become the lead plant for vehicles based on the MMA platform.
 
On June 4, production of the new Mercedes CLA began, running in parallel with the current generation of the A-Class, B-Class, GLA, and EQA models. The A-Class and B-Class will gradually be phased out of production without successors. Toward the end of the year, production of the CLA Shooting Brake will also commence, with the vehicle currently undergoing final testing in camouflage.
 
Thanks to the flexibility of the production lines at Rastatt, models with diesel engines, gasoline engines, 48V mild hybrid systems, plug-in hybrids, and electric powertrains are all assembled on the same line. The Rastatt plant spans 1.5 million square meters and employs 6,000 people.
 
The Rastatt plant was modernized for CLA production. In just a few weeks, a new production line in Hall 4.0 was configured and optimized using high-precision digital simulation techniques, enabling significant reductions in construction time and costs. The paint process was also optimized using AI. Instead of a conventional programmable logic controller (PLC), AI now monitors the relevant sub-processes, resulting in energy savings of 20 percent.
 
The powertrain and axles are supplied by the Untertürkheim plant, where the electric motors, power electronics, and the gear unit for power transmission are pre-assembled. This is the oldest Mercedes plant in the world, celebrating its 120th anniversary in 2024.
 
High-voltage batteries are supplied by the Accumotive division in Kamenz, which has 13 years of experience in battery production. Accumotive includes two battery plants that have produced over 2 million batteries since 2012 across an 80,000-square-meter facility.
 
Bodyshell components, structural parts, and other body elements are delivered from the Kuppenheim plant, located 8 km southeast of Rastatt.
 

The new Mercedes CLA Coupe marks several premieres for Mercedes: the new MB.OS operating system was developed in-house, driver assistance systems are AI-based, navigation uses Google Maps, the MMA platform supports 800V technology, allowing ultra-fast charging of up to 320 kW, and the rear motor is paired with an innovative 2-speed transmission.
 
Mercedes will produce four models on the MMA platform: the CLA Coupe (already in production), the CLA Shooting Brake (launching later this year), and the GLA and GLB, both set to debut in 2026. All four models will be available in full-electric and 48V mild hybrid versions.
 
Present at the inauguration of the new Mercedes CLA production, Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group, stated:
“With the CLA, Mercedes-Benz is ushering in a new era. The best guarantee for the long-term success of electromobility is top-of-the-range products like the CLA. We as a company are investing to ensure that these can be ‘made in Germany.’”
 
Also present at the ceremony was Winfried Kretschmann, Minister President of the State of Baden-Württemberg, who declared:
“The automotive industry is one of our leading industries. It is currently under enormous pressure due to changing market conditions, global uncertainties, and crises. That’s what drives me. Because Baden-Württemberg should continue to be an automotive state in the future. With the ‘Strategy Dialogue Automotive Industry BW’, I therefore created a format in 2017 in which we pool all our strengths. Our aim: The best e-cars have to come from Germany – the very best from Baden-Württemberg. The fact that the new CLA is rolling off the assembly line here in Rastatt is a commitment to Baden-Württemberg as an automotive location, to this plant, and to the people who work here.”