First Look: The Star Power of the Mercedes-Benz CLA
photo: Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz Chief Executive Officer Ola Källenius introduced the CLA, its newest electrified vehicle, against the stunning Rome skyline on a March evening. Then, South African singer Tyla, accompanied by a dance troupe, took the stage in flowing bright red garb and performed her signature hit “Water.” As Tyla closed her set from the backseat of the CLA, she pulled away in the sports sedan from a packed audience of actors, musicians, and creators who flew in from around the world to dance the night away at Villa Miani.
Mercedes-Benz, the world’s oldest automaker, built its legacy on vehicles that stand the test of time. On the precipice of a new era in automotive design and technology, the brand is undergoing a transformation to double down on the future. The small spunky CLA is the brand’s entry level vehicle that will offer up to 492 miles of range. The CLA is designed to appeal to the young buyer, and perhaps to woo some away from the chief competition in this category, the Tesla Model 3 and sedans by BYD and other Chinese carmakers. “China is the most competitive car market and technology market in the world at the moment,” said Mercedes-Benz CTO Markus Schäfer.
“It’s a very important car and we of course need to tailor it for that new audience that is the most tech savvy digital customer ever.”
The splashy Roman launch also ushered in a new digital architecture for the brand, the result of a substantial investment and the hiring of thousands of software engineers over the past several years. The CLA is powered by a sophisticated operating system and generative AI that makes the car feel more like a smart home than a traditional road going car. This system will carry into cars across the Mercedes lineup. For Mercedes’ first software defined vehicle, tech isn’t just practical, it’s creative and imaginative. “It's a very important car and we of course need to tailor it for that new audience that is the most tech savvy digital customer ever,” said Mercedes-Benz Design Chief Gordon Wagner.
The glitzy affair in Rome takes place at a challenging moment in the industrial world. Mercedes chose to strike an optimistic tone about making cars that appeal universally to European, Chinese, and American customers despite the market forces at work and looming tariffs. Mercedes will introduce over 25 new cars this year. To double down on this message, Mercedes pulled all the stops for the CLA launch. The musician Ice Spice, product designer Gustaf Westman, and fashion designer KidSuper were on site to talk about upcoming collaborations highlighting the CLA, which Mercedes is calling the Class of Creators. Camilla Cabello, Margaret Qualley, and Romeo Beckham were among the many guests at the launch.
Will.i.am, who launched a tech partnership with Mercedes at the Consumer Electronics Show last year, explained a new product he is developing with Mercedes at a workshop ahead of the launch. RAiDiO.FYI is an ambitious endeavor that marries AI with vetted content provided by major news organizations and music companies such as BMG. In his vision for the interactive radio platform, artists will create their own stations and curate around the language-based learning prompts it absorbs. “There's an opportunity to design something a little bit more fruitful for the creatives and how we monetize it and how the fans experience it. We can give them more, give them something deeper,” Will.i.am said. “If you do things based on what you think people are wanting then you don't innovate, you just duplicate what's there.”
As tech bleeds into every aspect of life, Mercedes is one step closer to merging culture, cars, and everything in between. The interior design of the CLA and the content of its screen reinforce that path. “In the past we designed an instrument panel, now it's a screen,” Wagner said. “I like it because it's very Bauhaus, it's very architectural, you have more rectangular angles. It stands very upright, which makes it easy to read, so we give that space to the digital world, to the UX design, because then that makes the difference.”
In February, Wagner was in Miami to introduce Mercedes-Benz Places, a 67-floor high rise in Brickell designed collaboratively by SHoP Architects and Mercedes-Benz design teams. When it’s completed the silver building will have elements inspired by cues and angles from Mercedes-Benz cars. “We start with the general idea what the landmarks should be,” Wagner said. “What makes it significant? What makes it Mercedes? How can we infuse our style in the building?”
Mercedes has a long history of designing objects that stand the test of time. It introduced its three-pointed star logo 100 hundred years ago. The stunning 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR "Uhlenhaut Coupe" sold for $142 million in 2022, the most expensive car ever sold. Now the brand turns to innovation and a bit of star power to carry this message into its future.