Mercedes must save. That's why the next CLA in the series gets an engine from Volvo that is already in stock in China.
The new Mercedes CLA will be launched both as an electric car and as a mild hybrid. The mild hybrid version will use a 2-liter engine from Chinese Geely and the Horse engine factory, which also includes Renault.
The engine is already in the Volvo models XC60, V60 and XC90 and produces 250 horsepower with a torque of 360 Nm.
Originally, the CLA was planned exclusively as an electric car, but Mercedes has changed its strategy and is now adding a mild hybrid version to the model range.
A significant part of the technology in the new CLA, including the engine, comes from Chinese companies. Geely is involved in engine development. While Momenta, a company Mercedes invested in in 2017, provides additional technology.
This is what Car News China writes.
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Production of the Volvo engine will take place in China. The only thing Mercedes wants to do is the catalytic converter. It must be produced in Germany.
The electric version of the CLA is expected to be launched in 2025. It will reportedly have a range of 750 kilometers from an 89.6 kWh battery. So according to the WLTP standard. The electric motor itself produces 240 horsepower.
When the mild hybrid version of the CLA with the Volvo engine will be launched is still unknown. But it could happen as early as 2026.
The collaboration between Mercedes and Geely is not surprising, as Geely's founder, Li Shufu, owns ten percent of the shares in the entire Mercedes group and thus is not without influence on the German car manufacturer.
Mercedes are not the only ones who will use the new Horse Powertrain group as an engine supplier. According to Renualt and Geely, a large number of customers have already signed up.
– Many no longer invest in internal combustion engines, we do the opposite, said the company's managing director Matias Giannini in an interview with Automobilwoche earlier this year.
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