Yahoo Autos Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA Class is huge tech in a small, bright package
This is the first step in the next step of the electric revolution happening at Mercedes-Benz. Unveiled at IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich and called the Concept CLA Class, the battery-electric four-door previews a production car placed at the "entry luxury" gateway to Mercedes' lineup. In doing so, it sits on the new EV-focused Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA), incorporates much of the science that went into the hypermiling battery-electric Vision EQXX, and wraps those advances in sheetmetal reminiscent of the current CLA. The entry-level electric will eventually offer four bodystyles: This sedan, a wagon, and two SUVs.
In sedan form, Europeans are promised a range of more than 750 kilometers (466 miles) on a charge on the WLTP cycle. Heaps of innovations went into delivering that kind of economy; Mercedes said "efficiency is the new currency" in the EV market, so engineers worked to make gains in every component. The retail model will offer two battery chemistries, a new pack developed with battery partner CATL being the range champ. The automaker didn't specify a capacity for the future product, but quoted energy consumption for the high-range pack as 12 kWh per 100 kilometers or 5.2 miles per kWh. Those numbers mean a battery with around 90 kWh usable to reach 750 km/466 mi. For comparison, Volvo's spec for the battery in the Euro-market 2024 XC40 Recharge is 18.2 kWh per 100 kilometers or 3.2 miles per kWh, roughly one-third less efficient than the Mercedes numbers.
The new, modular pack is said to take up a smaller volume compared to a current pack of similar capacity. The cell modules are held in place with adhesive instead of screws, lowering the weight of the pack and supposedly improving stiffness. The long-range chemistry features silicon-oxide anodes in what we expect is a lithium-ion battery chemistry. The entry-level pack is lithium-iron phosphate. Power is routed through an 800-volt electrical architecture. Mercedes says that at the max 250-kW DC fast-charge rate, the battery will gain 248 miles of range in 15 minutes. The production version will be capable of bi-directional charging as well.
The in-house electric drive unit is a compact package containing a 175-kW e-motor with almost no heavy rare earth metals, a two-speed transmission, and power electronics using silicon carbide semiconductors that can handle higher energy densities more efficiently. The unit's chiseled down to a weight of less than 243 pounds. Mercedes says it has measured system-wide energy efficiency of up to 93% in long distance driving, in part thanks to a heat pump that can draw heat out of the ambient air even in sub-freezing temperatures to maintain the battery's ideal operating range.
