The next-generation Mercedes-Benz A-Class reportedly won’t be a traditionally-shaped front-wheel drive hatchback.
Jörg Burzer, the automaker’s chief technology officer and also the man in charge of development and procurement, gave Automobilwoche some cryptic clues about the design of the fifth-generation A-Class, telling the trade publication the new car will be a “very attractive model”, as well as being “a model that doesn’t currently exist in this form”.
Sources went further, telling Automobilwoche the fifth-generation model will mix SUV and people mover elements together in a compact footprint.
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As part of a 2023 corporate plan to reduce the number of entry-level models in order to focus on larger and higher margin vehicles, the current A-Class hatch was initially set to retire in 2026 with no replacement.
Mercedes-Benz reversed course last year, extending the life of the existing hatch until 2028 when the fifth-generation model should be ready.
The new car will be based on the MMA platform that underpins the latest CLA sedan and wagon, as well as the GLA and GLB SUVs. The latest version of MMA supports both combustion engine, and pure electric drivetrains.
As part of its strategy shift, Mercedes-Benz has decided to tailor the bodies offered on the MMA platform to different regions. The CLA panders to American tastes by virtue of being a sedan, long wheelbase variants are designed specifically for China, and the next A-Class will be something compact and spacious for the European market.
If the report is accurate, the new SUV/people mover-style body will not only serve as replacement for the axed B-Class, but will also see the A-Class return, in a way, to its roots.
When Mercedes-Benz decided to venture into the space below the C-Class, it decided to do something radical to truly stand out from the crowd.
Launched in 1996, while the Europe was in the midst of the small people mover craze, the original A-Class was tall, short and spacious. Despite being just 3.7m-long, Mercedes-Benz claimed it had as much interior space as the contemporary 4.5m-long C-Class.
This was largely thanks to its unique sandwich floor design, and the specially-developed four-cylinder engine that was mounted at a 59-degree to help it fit in the stubby nose and slide under the floor in the case of a crash.
The unique sandwich floor platform was ditched for a traditional front- and all-wheel drive layout for the third-generation model launched in 2012, and has been used since.
