- Production of the all-electric Mercedes-Benz CLA in China has been delayed to August from the originally planned April due to issues with software development.
- The issues faced by the model come from the software development of the electrical and electronic architecture, which seems to be a common problem for new models from the German luxury automaker.
German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz has reportedly delayed production of its all-electric CLA sedan in China, marking a setback for one of its highly-anticipated models.
Production of the all-electric, long-wheelbase version of the Mercedes-Benz CLA in China has been delayed to August from the originally planned April due to issues with software development, 36kr said in a report today, citing a memo.
After receiving a request for comment, Mercedes-Benz said the new China-exclusive all-electric long-wheelbase CLA will go into production in 2025, and is under full-scale testing, according to the report.
“We are advancing our preparations for the production ramp-up as planned to ensure that this new product meets the needs of our Chinese customers,” Mercedes said.
The all-electric CLA is built by Mercedes based on the MMA (Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture) platform, a new modular platform developed for compact and midsize cars that can be used to produce electric vehicle (EV) models as well as internal combustion engine vehicles, the report noted.
The all-electric CLA is a new offensive launched by Mercedes-Benz after a deep understanding of China's EV market, but the launch has been delayed due to challenges in software development, according to the report.
The issues faced by the model came from the software development of the electrical and electronic architecture, which seems to be a common challenge for new models from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, the report said.
Mercedes-Benz has set up a digital R&D center in Shanghai and assembled a team of several hundred people to carry out research and development on electronic and electrical architecture as well as smart cockpit and smart driving, according to the report.
Traditional fuel carmakers aren't good at developing electrical and electronic architectures, while at the same time Mercedes-Benz's MMA platform and Audi and Porsche's PPE platforms are looking to be compatible with EVs and internal combustion engine vehicles, which poses even bigger challenges, 36kr said.
Volkswagen's approach has been to partner with local EV maker Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) to jointly develop an electrical and electronic architecture, the report noted.
Xpeng announced on July 26, 2023, that Volkswagen planned to invest $700 million in it and co-develop EVs.
Last April 17, Xpeng and Volkswagen signed a framework agreement for technical cooperation in Electrical/Electronic architecture to co-develop and integrate Xpeng's latest-generation architecture into the Volkswagen China Main Platform (CMP).
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