The electric Mercedes-Benz CLA is the best-powered version of the CLA and the new Electric C-Class is the best of that small car family. Now, if only the German luxury automaker can get the world to sincerely try it out.
The C-Class is a very important model for the company. Historically, the it has been Mercedes’ top-selling car.
The new Electric C-Class had its debut in Seoul, Korea earlier this year, just ahead of the Beijing Auto Show. China and Europe account for most of the global sales volume for C-Class. The Korean and Chinese markets are prime sales locations for Mercedes today and have 115 years of history with the brand.
China accounts for approximately 31% of total Mercedes-Benz global car sales and Chinese investors hold slightly less than 20% of the brand’s parent company.
The company sells comparatively less vehicles in Korea, but the country still ranks as a top sales region for it, behind China, the U.S. and Germany.
A car for global expectations
As Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius recently reiterated, the automaker is a global car company and its vehicles are designed to appeal to countries the world over. It’s also part of the reason why the company has strategically shifted its new vehicle cadence to invest in fresh computing nervous systems for its vehicles rather than completely redesigning the latest crop of S-Class, GLE and GLS models.
With those new electronics, they match much of the computing power of the all-new CLA and Electric GLC. The Electric C-Class builds on this, essentially as a fraternal twin of GLC.
For the Asian markets, this means that the C-Class is set to go on sale primed for their specific wants and needs. Customers there prioritize entertainment and specific apps, two things in the MB.OS wheelhouse. The company will optimize for the car for the digital extras that drive sales, like the ability to order food directly from the vehicle.
That same operating system and electronics will help keep the Electric C-Class fresh for longer than the cars of yesteryear.
Americans haven’t been forgotten about in the product planning process. Most of the U.S. market for electric cars currently centers around the Tesla 3. No automaker sells a luxury electric sedan besides the fledgling Lucid, whose Air is priced from $70,900 to $249,000 excluding destination fees.
The company’s research has shown that Americans prioritize comfort and range in an electric car, a spokesperson told Newsweek. The car is rated to go 762 kilometers between chargers according to Europe’s WLTP test cycle. That should work out to about 400 miles of range when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does their tests.
With its charging capability, the C-Class can add approximately 185 miles of range in just 10 minutes when ideal conditions exist.
What is the Electric C-Class like on the road?
On the town streets and undulating between-town roads of southwestern Germany, the C-Class showed that it delivers better-than-expected comfort and practicality, as well as emissions-free drivability. It is nimble, obviously taking engineering lessons learned from the CLA and employing it in this statelier package.
The key is that it is sporty on demand, meaning a quiet and comfortable ride when the driver wishes, but a quick drive mode option change makes it reasonably sporty (for a C-Class). And, because of its proportions, it doesn’t have the body lean the GLC suffers from.
Its new-age Mercedes front fascia looks have been pulled from the Electric GLC SUV and it has a backend with familial nods to the CLA and GLC. The look is more youthful than the C-Class of the past, but that doesn’t take away from its Mercedes-ness. As with the GLC, the grille looks better when matched with some paint colors than others.
With its lack of engine and external noise mitigation, the Electric C-Class offers its passengers an S-Class level of aural serenity.
Though its lack of physical buttons and control knobs may put off some potential buyers, the C-Class arrives at a moment when the automaker is able to deliver to customers nearly everything they are asking for in a small car.