Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its killer move.

Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Editor | Zhang Xiaoling

At the Munich Motor Show, which opened on September 4th local time, the Chinese automakers attracted a lot of attention and stole the spotlight. However, German automotive giants BMW and Mercedes-Benz were not to be outdone. The German Chancellor allocated 110 billion euros to "boost" German automakers and promote investment and construction in renewable energy and other sectors.

Mercedes-Benz even unveiled a killer move at this year's auto show by showcasing the all-new CLA concept car, a sharp weapon for Mercedes-Benz in the era of new energy.

According to Mercedes-Benz, the CLA concept car is close to mass production and is expected to be produced in 2024 according to the plan, but the estimated price has not been determined yet. Judging from the current price of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, its main competitor will be the Tesla Model 3/Y.

This means that next year, the "inventor of automobiles," Mercedes-Benz, will directly confront the new energy champion, Tesla. At that time, Mercedes-Benz may sweep away the haze of the past few years in the field of electrification.

The CLA concept car represents a thorough revolution in Mercedes-Benz's existing product system. It adopts a brand-new modular architecture (MMA) platform that is completely different from the existing "EQ" series. Many cutting-edge technologies in electrification and intelligence from Mercedes-Benz will also be applied to upcoming mass-produced models.

In addition, based on the CLA concept car, Mercedes-Benz will launch four models, including coupes, shooting brakes, and two SUVs.

From some existing data, Mercedes-Benz's focus this time is on the technological sense, intelligence, endurance, and energy replenishment of the models.

For example, the 800V high-voltage fast-charging battery system can replenish 400 kilometers of range in 15 minutes; the energy consumption per 100 kilometers is 12 kWh, with an energy conversion rate of 93%; and the range exceeds 750 kilometers, making it one of the models with the longest range in the market, surpassing the Tesla Model 3 Long Range (668 kilometers).

The all-new MB.OS operating system, with the support of NVIDIA's high-performance water-cooled chips and game engines, fills the gap in traditional automakers' intelligent cockpits. In terms of intelligent driving, the CLA concept car is also prepared for Level 3 autonomous driving.

In the past, these were the areas where traditional automakers had the biggest gap compared to Chinese new energy automakers.

Now, Mercedes-Benz has played the CLA concept card, showing its muscles to the new forces: what you have, I can do it all.

Even in terms of vehicle design, Mercedes-Benz has changed its previous conservative style and become more individualistic and bold. Insiders close to Mercedes-Benz said that this is Mercedes-Benz's manifestation of using the CLA to launch a counterattack in electrification. The previous few electric vehicle designs were not as good as fuel vehicles, and Mercedes-Benz wants to make a thorough change through this.

Mercedes-Benz emphasized that with the support of its research and development center in China and the Beijing Mercedes-Benz plant, Chinese consumers will soon experience new products.

As for the long-standing consumer complaints about the lack of high-voltage fast-charging stations and the inability to have a complete energy replenishment experience, Mercedes-Benz has also provided a solution. Mercedes-Benz stated that starting from October this year, the first batch of supercharging stations will be put into operation in cities including Chengdu, China, Atlanta, USA, and Mannheim, Germany. By the end of 2024, the number of supercharging piles will increase to 2,000, and the goal of exceeding 2,000 supercharging stations and 10,000 supercharging piles will be achieved by 2030.

While Chinese automakers shone at the Munich Motor Show, luxury car companies such as Mercedes-Benz also made a comeback with the launch of models like the CLA concept car.

It seems that Mercedes-Benz has also made detailed plans to further accelerate its electrification transformation in the next two years. The release of the CLA concept car provides a more detailed glimpse into Mercedes-Benz's electrification blueprint.

In the past, Mercedes-Benz was criticized for its slow progress in electrification, mainly due to the lack of competitive products in the entry-level luxury car segment and core luxury car models. With the rise of new forces such as NIO and Xpeng, Mercedes-Benz lost a considerable market share.

Mercedes-Benz intends to change this old impression. The bold and avant-garde design, the integration of electrification and cutting-edge intelligent technology, all make this CLA concept car, which will be mass-produced by the end of next year, capable of challenging or even surpassing other players in the market.

What consumers are more concerned about is the pricing of this car. Previously, Mercedes-Benz has given more aggressive pricing for models including the domestically produced EQE pure electric SUV, resulting in a "reverse price inversion" between gasoline and electric vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius stated at the Munich Motor Show that the cost of electric vehicles is indeed higher than that of gasoline vehicles, but in the era of new energy, prices are determined by the market, which will result in lower pricing for electric vehicles. This statement also raises expectations.

From a group perspective, after the scale of the MMA platform models is measured, Mercedes-Benz's financial data will be further optimized.

In the past two years, Mercedes-Benz has become the luxury brand that has gone the furthest by focusing on luxury and comprehensive electrification, while maintaining financial balance and profitability, and accelerating its electrification journey.

In the first half of this year, Mercedes-Benz achieved a revenue of 76.757 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 6%; a net profit of 10.492 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 7%. Mercedes-Benz is also the only brand among the BBA trio to achieve double-digit growth in revenue and profit.

After seeing the Mercedes-Benz CLA concept car, UBS analysts expressed great confidence in Mercedes-Benz's product line for the next two to three years. At the same time, the Mercedes-Benz management also emphasized to the analyst that they are confident in achieving the same profitability for the new electric vehicles as the gasoline models.

Being able to steadily advance the transformation without affecting financial data is an ability that many traditional car companies currently do not possess.

Mercedes-Benz has thus become a model for fuel car giants to transition to new energy, and a leader in the electrification transformation of luxury brands, directly challenging Tesla.

A fierce battle between the dominator of the fuel era and the king of the new energy era will officially begin in one year.