Mercedes-Benz reveals new design DNA with Concept CLA-Class

The next chapter for Mercedes-Benz design is here, and it begins with the Concept CLA-Class. Unveiled at this year’s IAA in Munich, the sporty five-seater coupe will be the first vehicle to use the company’s new MMA electric architecture, and also signals a new design approach for the three-pointed star.

Gone are the soft, round silhouettes of the current EQ lineup in favour of more familiar, sensual proportions and surfacing. Head of exterior design Robert Lesnik, who spoke to us about this strategy last year in Paris, underscored that the design language of the current-generation EQs marked a transition period as the brand heads toward full electrification by 2030.

“We said that for one generation our EQ electric cars would look different,” Lesnik said during an exclusive walkaround of the CLA concept at the brand’s installation at the Residenz München. “But toward the end of the decade, all cars will be electric anyway, so there is no reason to differentiate.”

Using a new electric drivetrain developed in-house (a version of which is used on the EQXX concept car we saw last year), the CLA will achieve an estimated range of more than 750km (465 miles). And while aerodynamics naturally dictate much of the CLA’s design, Lesnik says it was also important not to sacrifice classic brand DNA. “The body side should be as flat as possible, but since we are Mercedes, we always do a coke bottle shape, which we’ve done with every sporty Mercedes since the ‘50s or ‘60s,” he says. Lesnik also points out the shark-nose front end, and reveals that future AMG models will retain the “Panamericana” front-end design with vertical bars.

The most eye-catching update is the star-pattern lighting signature, building on a recurring theme that Mercedes has tinkered with the past few years, sprinkling the emblem ad infinitum on wheel designs, interior inlays, and across the front end of EQ models. “We always talk about iconic elements, something you could remember and sketch from memory,” Lesnik says. “This stylised star is something we believe is very iconic and easy to read, and it will be the new lighting signature going forward.”

Inside the cabin, the Concept CLA-Class builds on a philosophy also shown in the EQXX: a pared-down approach inspired by product design, where each element stands on its own.

“We totally go away from complex sculptures and really use the space to focus on the modules,” Mercedes-Benz’s director of interior design Hartmut Sinkwitz tells us. “It’s simple and clean; there are floating door panels where you don’t think about the surrounding, the reduced floating screen, the arm rest floating on top of the main body, and you don’t have to care about this wraparound concept.”

Sinkwitz also points out the seat controls on the door panel, redone in a bow shape, along with the striking stripe pattern done in metal. “One inspiration for us has been Bang and Olufsen design and home electronics,” he says, “and all of this will be even more progressive on the production car.”

Mercedes has been doubling down on big screens, and with the recent announcement of the company’s own operating system, MB.OS, along with expanded entertainment and productivity offerings, Sinkwitz’s team is dedicating even more real estate to digital displays.

“I’ve always been a great fan of big screens, and the idea is to have one screen that replaces the good old dashboard and marks the contour,” he says. “With the EQS and new E-Class we went for a more layered screen, which is beautiful. But here we went a step back to ‘form follows function,’ bringing up the screen to the highest point and really going around ergonomics. In the production car it will be even bigger; for this we want to have more height for navigation, TikTok, or whatever.”

At the same time, Sinkwitz says keeping some analogue elements is still important, especially with a luxury brand. “You still need something to touch,” he says, adding that the CLA-Class will also keep the brand’s signature round air vents. “The circle is a wonderful graphic form,” he says. “It’s pure, we love it, and we will never give it up. We don’t want to have invisible vents; we need to have something to entertain the eye.”

After the CLA-Class, Mercedes will debut three more models built on the new MMA architecture: a shooting brake, and two SUVs. But unlike the days of the “same sausage, different length” strategies, Lesnik and Sinkwitz both underscore that the new design language will be applied uniquely to each forthcoming vehicle. “This is the sportier model,” Lesnik hints. And Sinkwitz adds, “This is the most high-tech-oriented design for the entry level segment, and step by step we will go towards more opulent and more luxury.”