Mercedes-Benz A-Class Will Live On As Germans Rethink EV Strategy

The entry-level Mercedes-Benz A-Class has reportedly received a stay of execution, with company executives deciding to keep it in production until 2026, reports Autocar.

Discontinued in the United States in early 2022, the stepping stone into Mercedes ownership was due to be killed off this year for new battery-electric options. The automaker recently announced that it would change its EV strategy due to dwindling demand for electric vehicles.

Previously, Mercedes aimed to be an all-electric brand by 2030, with 50% of global sales coming from PHEVs and EVs by next year. Now, the company hopes to achieve this goal sometime between 2025 and 2030. CEO Ola Kallenius said customers and «market conditions will set the pace of transformation» into the electric era. The chief executive also noted that a series of ups and downs would punctuate this transition era.

CarBuzz has contacted Mercedes-Benz for additional information and will update the article with the manufacturer's response.

Interestingly, the Three-pointed Star has chosen to keep the A-Class alive. The automaker's research has shown that demand for electric vehicles will be strong in the entry- to mid-level vehicle tiers. However, many customers aren't ready to embrace battery-electric motorcars, and Mercedes-Benz will have to cater to them if they want to keep buyers (and profit margins) happy.

The brand's most affordable electric car is the EQB SUV, which has a hefty starting price of $52,750. If the automaker wants to encourage consumers to buy EVs, it must develop something more affordable, like the base GLA-Class ($41,850).

Unfortunately, Kallenius believes cost parity between EVs and ICE vehicles is still years away. This is not a problem exclusive to Mercedes and is something all brands struggle with.

According to the report, Mercedes-Benz has had to make adjustments to the Rastatt assembly plant for the facility to manufacture cars based on the MFA and MMA platforms. MFA underpins the current-generation A-Class, GLA, GLB, CLA, and EQB compact cars, among other models.

Billed as a successor to the MFA platform, MMA (Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture) will be able to accommodate electric, plug-in