Getting more range out of the battery - according to Mercedes boss Ola Källenius, this is the key to powering the future compact electric cars from the brand with the three-pointed star.

The first vehicle on the new platform for the Swabian company's entry-level segment, the CLA saloon, will achieve 30 to 35 percent more range per kilowatt hour of energy than the first generation of electric cars, Källenius told the Reuters news agency. "Efficiency really is the new currency when we switch to electric cars," said the Group CEO in the interview published on Friday.

Mercedes will be presenting a concept of the production model planned for early 2025 at the IAA motor show in Munich next week. The new CLA will be the first of four future compact models based on the new electric drive platform from Mercedes-Benz MMA. The car will consume just twelve kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per 100 kilometers and will travel over 750 kilometers on a single charge, Källenius announced. The EQA 350 electric SUV currently consumes 17 to 18 kWh. This would make the CLA more economical than the current, discontinued Model 3 from Tesla, which consumes a good 13 kWh. Transferred to the sinking world of the combustion engine, the fuel consumption of the CLA would be one liter per 100 km according to Källenius. The one-liter car was a goal of the German car industry in the last century. It was achieved by Volkswagen with the XL1 small car, of which only 200 units were sold.

Range is a critical factor for customers when buying an electric car. Manufacturers are faced with the tricky task of offering more without driving up battery costs. Mercedes wants to solve this for the CLA base model with a cost-effective lithium iron phosphate battery (LFP), which is being used by Mercedes for the first time. In order to achieve greater efficiency, the entire system must be optimized, Källenius explained further. This includes, for example, the power consumption of assistance systems or the large screen for infotainment.

(Contributed by Ilona Wissenbach; edited by Sabine Wollrab. If you have any queries, please contact the editorial team at frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)

- by Joseph White