- The Mercedes CLA is the primary EV to function each CCS1 and NACS charging ports.
- Each ports are on the best facet of the automobile underneath the identical charging port door.
- The Mercedes CLA will debut subsequent 12 months with absolutely electrical and hybrid powertrains.
Most producers promoting electrical autos within the U.S. have introduced that they’ll start switching from the everyday Mixed Charging System (CCS) plug to Tesla’s North American Charging Commonplace (NACS) plug this 12 months and subsequent. Tesla’s slimmer, sleeker plug kind is anticipated to grow to be the commonest kind of charger within the coming years, and including entry to the Tesla Supercharger community shall be a godsend for American EV drivers in all places. Mercedes would be the first German automaker to take action beginning with the upcoming CLA-Class EV. However the Silver Arrow model is doing one thing very novel and fascinating right here.
Whereas in Germany at Mercedes’ Sindelfingen manufacturing facility, InsideEVs realized that it’ll truly include each NACS and CCS charging ports—a really distinctive proposition. If that’s commonplace sufficient, the 2 charging ports shall be situated on the best facet of the automobile, stacked one on prime of the opposite underneath the identical charging port door.
Photograph by: Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes CLA Teaser (2025)
Mercedes not too long ago revealed a set of teaser photographs that includes a thinly veiled CLA prototype carrying revealing camouflage, which appeared to have flaps on each flanks. We thought it signaled the arrival of a plug-in hybrid variant. Nevertheless, Mercedes confirmed that the automobile within the teaser photographs was the EV, which solely had one charging port door on its proper flank. It would solely make the pure electrical or non-plug-in hybrid CLA with a brand-new engine and hybrid system.
Photograph by: Mercedes-Benz
Having the 2 most typical forms of charging ports will drastically enhance the CLA’s versatility, giving house owners the liberty to cost from Tesla Superchargers or any nationwide public quick charging community natively with out the necessity for an adapter. These adapters have typically confirmed problematic, and eliminating the necessity for one will lead to a greater person expertise, which is what Mercedes is banking on with the CLA.
We noticed loads of camouflaged CLA prototypes driving across the Sindelfingen manufacturing facility, and it seems to be like a much bigger and extra grown-up automobile than its predecessor. It’s additionally the primary to be constructed on the 800-volt Mercedes Modular Structure (MMA), which is able to spawn three extra fashions, together with a taking pictures brake CLA and two crossovers (considered one of which is able to most likely be a GLB-like seven-seater).
The high-voltage platform permits the CLA EV to cost at as much as 320 kilowatts, sufficient so as to add 186 miles (300 kilometers) in 10 minutes with en-route preconditioning. It’s price noting that even the most recent V4 Tesla Supercharger continues to be formally restricted to 250 kW of energy (though Tesla desires to improve it to supply over 300 kW), so you’ll probably want a 350 kW CCS station to have the ability to match the official energy declare.