2026 Mercedes CLA will get CCS and NACS charge port, hybrid option

• The 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA will be available as an EV and a hybrid
• The electric CLA will be able to add 186 miles of range in 10 minutes
• It may be the first EV to feature both CCS and NACS charging ports

Mercedes-Benz is still looking to the future as electric, although the timeline for the transition is getting a bit colder as well longer than expected.

When it comes next year, it's electric 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA it will be the first of four new models (three of which come from the US) in the platform dedicated to the next-generation MMA EV. With two charging ports, high-speed charging capabilities, highly advanced electrical architecture, new motors designed in-house, 2-speed transmission, and a hybrid powertrain option, it is the genesis of Mercedes' upcoming lineup.

2026 Mercedes CLA will include CCS and NACS ports

The electrical architecture of the CLA is future-proofed thanks to a new interior design 800-volt electrical structure. Mercedes claims that the system has a maximum charging rate of 320 kw, but more importantly it can restore a range of 186 kilometers in 10 minutes if it is quickly charged starting at 10% of the cost. Mercedes says that's about 36 kwh of power in 10 minutes. It will take less than 22 minutes from 10-80% of the charge, according to Mercedes.

Home charging will use an 11.0-kw on-board charger—probably good for eight hours of charging overnight with the US-spec model's usable capacity of 85.0-kwh.

Mercedes engineers have revealed that when the CLA is launched in the US it will have it two charging ports under the door for one charging port. One will be the CCS port and the other will be the NACS (Tesla) port.

They said this is good for the customer, because who wants an adapter that can get lost or broken? Powertrain and rolling chassis units were only shown with a CCS port and no visible dual charging ports were shown on either side.

Mercedes EVs will use a 2-speed transmission and new electric motors

Mercedes has designed and developed a new electric drive unit, called EDU 2.0 (Electric Drive Unit 2.0). These engines are the first in a new family of BEV powertrains, just as Mercedes has created families of gas-powered engines. Motors are said to be capable of climbing and will return again and again, probably for AMG and heavy SUV models.

Single-motor-wheel-drive motor CLAs will feature a 200-kw permanently synchronous motor (PSM) in the rear with 268 hp. The 4Matic all-wheel drive models will add an 80-kw motor to the front axle and activate it during acceleration or when slippage is detected. Both engines have silicon carbide converters.

The CLA will be the first, but not the last, Mercedes EV to feature ia 2-speed transmission. Engineers expect many of the automaker's upcoming EVs to be more complex in the name of smoothness and efficiency.

The motor (EDU 2.0), transmission, and power electronics are all packaged in one housing.

First gear has an 11:1 ratio and tops out at 68 mph and second gear shifts to a 5:1 ratio at a top speed of 130 mph. Second gear is used for highway driving and cruising while first gear is designed for dynamic and low-speed driving. A dry friction-based clutch is used to engage first gear while a dog clutch is used to engage second gear to ensure that the average consumer will not feel the machine shifting and operating at different speeds, according to Mercedes engineers.

Mercedes is rethinking its regenerative braking system

Mercedes engineers know that the two-stage brake system in the EQS (and EQS) is not ideal.

The MMA platform, and the new CLA in particular, uses Mercedes' next-generation braking system. It's still a two-stage integrated system, but developers say it works differently than today's system in EQS.

The vehicle will use regenerative braking until it can recover quickly enough or the necessary conditions do not allow it (battery too full, too cold, too hot, etc.) before applying the collision brakes. Up to 200 kw recovery is possible, according to Mercedes.

Unlike the EQS and EQE models, the brake pedal will not move by itself when the vehicle is using regenerative braking.

One-pedal driving will unlock four other levels of regen, called D- (one-pedal driving), D, D+ (minimum amount of reg), and D Auto. Engineers said the car will remember the selected brake reset during the key cycle and will not change until the user switches the system, unlike today's car.

Every US CLA gets an NMC battery

In some markets the entry-level CLA will feature a 58.0-kwh LFP battery pack (usable). The American market will not receive this battery as it will not meet American needs in terms of distance, according to a Mercedes spokesperson.

The US-spec CLA will come standard with a larger 85.0-kwh (usable) nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery. Engineers said that's 96% of the pack's capacity, making the maximum capacity 88.5 kwh.

Both packs use prismatic cells rather than bag or cylindrical cells. Engineers say this route was taken to optimize volume, size, and stability. The new chemistry includes silicon anode materials to increase power density.

Future AMG models will use their own separate battery pack.

The battery software and integration were all developed in-house and will continue to be done in-house. Markus Shäfer, a member of the board of Mercedes Group AG and the automaker's Chief Technology Officer, said that full vertical integration is important for the automaker's future. Hardware and software must all work together. That's why Mercedes now, for the first time in history, has a Chief Software Officer in the C-Suite.

The system is capable of bi-directional charging, used in home (V2H) and grid (V2G) situations.

2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA enters the MMA arena

The MMA platform is BEV's new clean sheet platform. Mercedes engineers say the platform, and the battery pack, are both dangerous. It is expected that more than 90% of future Mercedes models will be based on a common battery platform.

The entire pack is modular with the same designed battery components, which act as the main part of the platform. The battery pack does not have the same structure as the Tesla Model Y, where the battery acts as the floor of the car and the seats are bolted to the pack. But the battery pack is part of the car's safety structure.

Every MMA-based Mercedes EV will have a heat pump.

Mercedes says two crossover SUVs will follow the CLA. Between the lines of a wink and a nod they may replace the GLA and GLB crossover SUVs. Then comes the CLA Shooting Brake, which won't be coming to the US because we can't have nice things.

There is at least one example of an engineering error from the start. Because the MMA stadium was originally considered a dedicated BEV building, and during the planning process hybrid powertrain baked, the front electric motor shares points with the hybrid model's gas engine. This results in the electric motor sitting higher than it should. It will result in the CLA having a frunk that can only hold a small bag.

The CLA hybrid option will sit alongside the EV

In the hybrid, a new 1.5-liter turbo-4 sits under the hood and connects to an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic 27-hp electric motor integrated between the engine and transmission. The total output of the system is 187 hp. A 1.3-kwh lithium-ion battery pack is installed under the driver's seat, and the entire system runs on 48-volts.

Mercedes said the system can drive on electric power alone or travel at speeds of up to 62 mph.

All gears of the 8-speed automatic transmission can be used to recover to harvest up to 25 kW of power back into the battery pack. Mercedes says this will not be a plug-in hybrid.

Hybrid models will be front-wheel drive, but all-wheel drive will be available with a driveshaft and an electronic clutch.

Mercedes engineers say the 1.5-liter inline-4 was chosen over the turbo-3 because of noise, harshness, and vibration. The new engine weighs 17% less than the outgoing 2.0-liter turbo-4 in today's CLA. Although that engine has a belt starter-generator, the new engine does away with that and any conventional starter and alternator, those functions are handled by the electric motor. A 12:1 compression ratio powers the efficient Miller cycle, and the newly designed manifold integrates the exhaust-gas turbocharger directly into the pipes to save weight and space.

No fuel economy estimates were provided, but engineers say the target is “diesel-like fuel consumption.”

Mercedes-Benz has not announced pricing, range, equipment or final specifications for the 2026 CLA EV or Hybrid. That information will come at the official show and closer to launch.

–
Mercedes-Benz paid for travel and lodging and some German pretzels for Green Car Reports to bring you this report in person.