Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

A family of eight compact models will help Mercedes reel in first-time buyers

By

2017 Mercedes-Benz CLA
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Mercedes-Benz is investing in its lineup of popular compact models in its bid to continue setting sales records around the globe.

“We have big plans for compact cars. We’ll be expanding our quintet to a family of eight models,” Marco Ebler, the product manager for Mercedes’ compact models, revealed during a media event in Hungary.

Recommended Videos

Currently, Mercedes’ small car cluster includes the A-Class, the B-Class, the CLA (pictured), the CLA Shooting Brake, and the GLA. Some of those names might not sound familiar because only the CLA, the GLA, and a very small number of B-Classes are sold in the United States.

Ebler stopped short of revealing which body styles or nameplates will join the five existing cars. However, he told us Mercedes will preview one of the newcomers with a close-to-production concept that’s scheduled to make its debut in about two weeks during this year’s edition of the Shanghai Auto Show. British magazine Autocar believes it will be a four-door sedan variant of the A-Class hatchback positioned a notch below the CLA, and aimed directly at the Audi A3 Sedan.

Insiders have indicated the second model will be a crossover named GLB whose design will borrow styling cues from the venerable G-Class. The third could take the form of a coupe positioned as a rival for the Audi TT, though nothing is official at this point.

A vast majority of Mercedes’ compact models will spawn a high-performance variant tuned by AMG. However, the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine found under the hood of the CLA 45 and the GLA 45 will not live on beyond the current models’ life cycle.

“The engine is maxed out. First, we thought it had reached its peak when it made 355 horsepower, but we found that we could get more power so we bumped the output up to 381 for the face-lift. That’s as high as it can go,” Steffen Jastrow, AMG’s head of development for compact cars, told Digital Trends.

His comments confirm the AMG-branded versions of Mercedes’ next compacts will receive a brand new engine. Replacing the most powerful series-produced four-cylinder in the world is no easy task, but AMG is stepping up to the challenge.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon
Contributor
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
Mercedes ‘Little G’ electric G-Wagon: Rumored design, release date
Concept image of the larger electric G-Wagon

Slowly, but surely, Mercedes-Benz is building electric versions of all of its different cars -- and it looks like a smaller electric G-Wagon may be coming up soon. Mercedes first announced an all-electric EQG in 2021, but even before the car is officially available to buy, the company is already planning a baby one too, affectionately dubbed the "Little G."

There's still a lot we don't know about the smaller electric G-Wagon. Here, however, is everything we do know so far.
Design
Design is a huge part of what makes a G-Wagon a G-Wagon. Because of that, it's almost certainly something that Mercedes won't compromise on.

Read more
Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV first drive review: a better electric SUV
Front three quarter view of the 2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV.

With EV production ramping up, automakers can now shift attention to something more fun: making EVs that are engaging to drive, the kind that encourage you to take the long way home. Mercedes-Benz is putting its best people on the job.

For more than 50 years, AMG has been turning Mercedes luxury cars into race cars and hot rods—and the performance division is now working its magic on EVs. We’ve already gotten AMG versions of the Mercedes-Benz EQS and EQE sedans, but AMG is now upping the difficulty level with an electric SUV.

Read more
2024 Mercedes-AMG S63 E Performance first drive review: high-performance plug-in
Front three quarter view of the 2024 Mercedes-AMG S63 E Performance.

It's a time of transition at Mercedes-Benz. The venerable automaker is looking toward an electric future with EVs like the EQS, while introducing updated versions of its traditional internal-combustion models like the S-Class. The 2024 Mercedes-AMG S63 E Performance bridges the gap.

For those not fluent in Mercedes-speak, AMG is the automaker's performance version, and the S63 is a hot-rodded version of the S-Class. This 2024 model is the latest in a long line of big, powerful Mercedes sedans that combine limousine-like luxury with sports-car thrust. But this time, there's a twist.

Read more