Mercedes-Benz prices new electric CLA at $47,250 with 374-mile range
Mercedes priced its electric CLA at $47,250, pairing 374 miles of range with 320-kW charging in a bid to revive the EV sedan.
Mercedes-Benz set the new electric CLA at $47,250, a price that buys a 374-mile EPA range, 320-kW DC fast charging and an 800-volt architecture in a sedan aimed at buyers who have drifted toward crossovers. The equation matters because the company is trying to prove that long range and quick charging are no longer luxury-only features, but can be packaged in a model priced below the psychological $50,000 mark.
The CLA was unveiled in Rome on March 13, 2025 as the first model in a completely new family of vehicles, with Mercedes saying it would arrive first as a fully electric car and later as a high-tech hybrid. Ola Källenius said the car would be the most efficient and most intelligent Mercedes the company had ever made. Mercedes also said the CLA was the first Mercedes-Benz in 90 years to offer a frunk, a small but telling signal that the brand wants the car to feel like a clean-sheet EV rather than a converted combustion sedan.
Mercedes-Benz USA said on November 25, 2025 that the 2026 CLA would start at $47,250. U.S. press launches were scheduled for December, first vehicles were expected on U.S. roads shortly after, and volume was to ramp through the first quarter of 2026. Mercedes says the car can add up to 202 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes, while the U.S. future-vehicles page says compatible 800-volt chargers can add up to 201 miles in 10 minutes. That combination puts the CLA squarely in the fight for buyers comparing range, charging speed and monthly payment rather than badge alone.
The launch also comes as Mercedes pushes a broader product offensive. Company materials say 12 new or facelifted models are planned by 2027, and the CLA is the opening move in a compact family that will later include additional powertrains and body styles. Bloomberg reported in March 2025 that Mercedes was pitching the CLA as its most affordable electric sedan and expected a European starting price of about €50,000, or $54,210, as it positioned the model against Tesla Inc. and BYD Co.
That ambition arrives in a difficult U.S. market for sedans and for EVs more broadly. U.S. EV sales accounted for 9% of light-vehicle sales in 2025, according to World Resources Institute data citing Argonne National Laboratory, but battery-electric sales fell year over year even as the market kept expanding overall. SUVs still dominate American driveways, which is why a sub-$50,000 electric sedan with premium range and fast charging is more than a product launch. It is a test of whether the next phase of EV growth can still be won in the body style buyers have left behind.
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