Today, the Mercedes-Benz CLA-class concept car made its world premiere at the 2023 German International Automobile and Smart Mobility Expo (IAA MOBILITY 2023).
According to reports, the car is based on the new Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) platform, which further transforms the cutting-edge scientific and technological achievements of the VISION EQXX concept car, is equipped with an “advanced and efficient electric drive system”, and is positioned as a “luxury new generation car”.
The MMA platform is a new modular architecture developed by Mercedes-Benz with the concept of “electricity first”. The pure electric cruising range of the CLA-class concept car exceeds 750 kilometers (WLTP working conditions), and has an energy consumption performance of about 12 kWh/100 kilometers. The electric drive system derived from the VISION EQXX concept car is independently developed by Mercedes-Benz , equipped with an 800-volt electrical architecture.
The CLA-class concept car uses sporty rear-wheel drive, and the MMA platform also supports four-wheel drive. Mass production models on the MMA platform will be first put into production at the Rastatt (Germany), Kecskemét (Hungary) and Beijing Benz plants.
Based on the flexible modular architecture of the MMA platform, the car’s battery system provides 2 options. High-end models use silicon oxide anode batteries, and entry-level models use lithium iron phosphate batteries, and for the first time, adhesives are used to replace bolts to fix the battery module. The 800-volt high-voltage battery enables 250-kilowatt DC fast charging and is claimed to “add 400 kilometers of range in 15 minutes of charging.”
The car is equipped with a new electric drive unit MB.EDU independently developed by Mercedes-Benz, which highly integrates the motor, gearbox and power electronic module. Among them, the 175-kilowatt permanent magnet synchronous motor and the 2-speed gearbox are uniformly controlled by a power electronic module in a single processor and matched with a silicon carbide inverter. The MB.EDU electric drive unit weighs less than 110 kilograms and is claimed to have a 93% energy conversion efficiency from battery to wheels.
The heavy rare earth content of the permanent magnet synchronous motor in the MB.EDU electric drive unit is close to 0%, which is significantly lower than before; the production of the battery core and cathode has achieved carbon neutrality, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of the battery by 40%.
In addition, the CLA-class concept car demonstrates bi-directional charging technology, which can provide convenience for the family through reverse power supply or as emergency use, and can also be connected to a charging station that supports bi-directional DC to balance peaks and valleys of power consumption on the grid, or trade green electricity.
In terms of exterior and interior, the CLA-class concept car adopts the classic shark nose in the center of the front face, and the A-shaped grille is transformed into a digital canvas, equipped with a luminous three-pointed star emblem and a dynamic star emblem pattern. The rear lights add three-dimensional light effects, and star-shaped headlights are also added. The star-shaped taillights are also surrounded by a light strip, as well as a luminous star emblem tail mark + new chrome-plated mirror material.
It is noticed that the CLA-class concept car as a whole has a long wheelbase, short front overhang, and long front design. The wheel arches and wide track design, as well as the GT-line rear end, elongate the body profile.
The interior of the car is equipped with a “super-simulation” cockpit, and the suspended MBUX super screen that runs through the cockpit follows the mini-LED technology and immersive 3D graphics display of the VISION EQXX concept car.
The turbine air outlet adopts a classic design, and is presented in the form of digital graphics on the left and right ends of the MBUX super screen, transforming from the traditional air conditioner air outlet to the temperature control interface. The virtual inner ring located on the display screen can display the temperature, and the real air conditioning outlet is located behind the screen and integrated with the ambient lighting.
The front row of the car is equipped with bucket seats with height-adjustable headrests, Nappa leather trim + crystal white embossed pattern on the seat, laurel wreath pattern on the central door trim, suspended door control panel and door handle Melt together to form an armrest.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz introduced visually impactful trims for the first time in this car, integrating a wireless charging pad with a luminous transparent design and a luminous cup holder with three-dimensional sheet trim in the suspended central armrest. One of the highlights of the interior is located in the transparent display area under the center console. The nerve-shaped aluminum light strip leads to the water-cooled processor, which is equipped with the new Mercedes-Benz operating system MB.OS.
In terms of car-machine systems, MB.OS, an operating system independently developed by Mercedes-Benz, realizes the decoupling of software and hardware, and uses Nvidia water-cooled chips. The MBUX super screen of the CLA-class concept car uses real-time graphics rendering technology driven by game engines. Each screen has a series of themes, which can also be used with ambient lighting and sound effects.
In terms of intelligent driving assistance, the CLA-class concept car can realize L2 intelligent driving assistance in all scenarios, and lidar auxiliary sensor technology will be introduced in the future. At the same time, Mercedes-Benz said that MB.OS’s software and computing power are ready for upgrading L3 autonomous driving.
MB.OS is also equipped with a new child safety monitoring system (CPD), which claims to be able to effectively avoid the danger of children being forgotten in the car in hot weather. Based on a network of more than 20 system interfaces, the sensitive sensor can even detect the weak breathing of a newborn baby while sleeping, while the camera detects the presence of an adult to avoid false alarms.
When it is detected that a child is left in a parked car, it will trigger a series of warning procedures, including: reminding the driver when the engine is turned off, and upgrading the warning when the driver locks the car, and sending a message to the smartphone. At the same time, the vehicle monitors and adjusts the temperature inside the vehicle, sends out a distress signal using lights and sounds, and in the final stage informs the Mercedes-Benz SOS call center or the police.
Kallenius, chairman of the board of directors of Mercedes-Benz, revealed that in the future, the CLA-class car family will have four models, including a four-door coupe, a hunting coupe and two SUVs.
