At the auto motor und sport congress, Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius confirmed that there will indeed be a successor to the A-Class, which will be based on the new MMA platform and may bear a different name.
The Mercedes A-Class has had a turbulent history over the past year. In March 2025, Mercedes announced that the A-Class would have no successor, and that the new Mercedes CLA would take over as the brand’s entry-level model. The plan was to end A-Class production in 2026, leaving the compact lineup with only four models: the GLA, GLB, CLA, and CLA Shooting Brake.
However, in September 2025 at the Munich Auto Show, during the unveiling of the new Mercedes GLC EQ, Ola Källenius announced that the current generation of the A-Class would remain in production until 2028.
And now, just a few days ago at the auto motor und sport congress in Stuttgart, Källenius confirmed that there will be a new entry-level model—though he deliberately avoided using the A-Class name.
It seems Källenius took into account the opinions of dealers, who wanted a true entry-level model, as well as customer feedback, recognizing that the A-Class has traditionally been the gateway into the Mercedes world for younger buyers.
The sharp drop in sales over the past year convinced Källenius that Mercedes needs an entry-level model to attract the next generation to the brand—customers who might later move on to higher-end models.
Källenius stated that there will be an affordable and sporty entry-level model. As expected, it will be built on the new MMA (Mercedes Modular Architecture) platform, meaning it will be offered with both electric and mild-hybrid powertrains.
On the electric side, the MMA platform feature 800V technology, charging power of up to 320 kW, and a range of up to 750 km.
Källenius avoided mentioning the A-Class name for two reasons: first, it’s very likely the new entry-level model will have a different name; and second, it might adopt a different body style instead of a hatchback. Some sources suggest it could be a crossover, though this would complicate its positioning, as Mercedes is planning a new generation of the GLA in 2026.
Still, it’s not impossible that Mercedes might ultimately keep the hatchback body style that made the A-Class famous.
What’s important, however, is that the Mercedes entry-level model remains a global product—though hatchbacks are not particularly popular in the U.S.
The current generation will stay on the market until late 2027 or early 2028, when it will be replaced by the new model.
The Mercedes A-Class was launched in 1997, with the first two generations featuring a distinctive sandwich-style body. In 2012, the third generation arrived, built on the MFA platform, followed by the fourth generation in 2018, which used the evolved MFA2 platform.
