Generation history
Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class generations and next redesign.
The Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class has been through 3 generations, starting in 2013, 2019 and 2025. The gaps were 6, 6 years, an average of 6.0. Redesigns come quickly on this model. The current generation began in 2025. On that cadence the next full redesign points to 2030 through 2032, centered on 2031. This is a projection. It comes from the model's own past redesign years, not from the manufacturer. A mid-cycle refresh usually lands in between. Public records describe the current generation this way: The third-generation CLA, officially marketed as CLA with EQ Technology, was unveiled on 13 March 2025, firstly as a sedan. Specifications, trims and the NHTSA safety record are on the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class model page.
Every generation
The Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class, generation by generation.
| Generation | Code | Years | What changed |
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| First generation | C117 | 2013–2019 | The design of the C117 CLA is based on the Concept Style Coupe concept unveiled by Mercedes-Benz at the 2012 Avant/Garde Diaries event in Los Angeles, followed by the 2012 Auto China, and Huashan 1914 Creative Park. |
|---|
| Second generation | C118 | 2019–2025 | The second generation CLA was unveiled at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in January 2019. |
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| Third generation | C178/174 | 2025–present | The third-generation CLA, officially marketed as CLA with EQ Technology, was unveiled on 13 March 2025, firstly as a sedan. |
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The Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class spent 6.0 years per generation on average. The current one is 1 years old. Treat 2030 to 2032 as a range, not a date.
Source: Mercedes-Benz CLA (Wikipedia). The estimate is our arithmetic on those start years.
Open the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class model page for specifications, trims, safety record and answers.
In more detail
What each Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class generation changed.
First generation, 2013 to 2019
The design of the C117 CLA is based on the Concept Style Coupe concept unveiled by Mercedes-Benz at the 2012 Avant/Garde Diaries event in Los Angeles, followed by the 2012 Auto China, and Huashan 1914 Creative Park. It is a four-door fastback coupe, based on the platform of the W176 A-Class and W246 B-Class compact cars. The production version C117 CLA was publicly unveiled at the 2013 North American International Auto Show, with sales commencing in September 2013.
Second generation, 2019 to 2025
The second generation CLA was unveiled at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in January 2019. Based on the same Modular Front Architecture (MFA2) platform as the W177 A-Class, W247 B-Class, X247 GLB and H247 GLA the C118 CLA retains the fastback styling to set it apart from the V177 A-Class Sedan and shares its powertrains with the A-Class. Stylistically, the design is inspired by the new design language Mercedes-Benz adopted for the C257 CLS. The C118 has an almost completely flat underbody, resulting in a drag coefficient of 0.23.
Third generation, 2025 to today
The third-generation CLA, officially marketed as CLA with EQ Technology, was unveiled on 13 March 2025, firstly as a sedan. The CLA is the first model to be based on the Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) platform. For the first time for Mercedes, the combustion-engine and battery electric models of the CLA feature identical designs for the exterior and interior, as well as sharing a model name. This marks the end to Mercedes’ strategy of entirely bespoke battery electric models being developed to sit alongside their combustion-engine equivalents, such as with the E-Class and EQE.
Generation notes adapted from Mercedes-Benz CLA (Wikipedia).
Today's Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class
What the current generation is, and how it has held up.
Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class at a glance
- Production
- 2013–present
- Class
- Subcompact executive car (C)
- Body style
- 4-door Sedan (car), saloon, 5-door Estate car, estate (Shooting Brake)
- Layout
- Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, Front-engine, all-wheel-drive (4Matic)