Mercedes-Benz A-Class is Coming, Could Start Below $30,000: Dealers

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Get ’em young and get ’em poor upwardly mobile. That seems to be Mercedes-Benz’s rationale behind the upcoming A-Class sedan, which should arrive in the U.S. later next year.

According to dealers who spoke to Automotive News, the German automaker has confirmed the front-wheel drive model will indeed appear on these shores, slotted below brand’s current least-expensive car, the CLA. No longer a somewhat geeky, Euro-centric mini hatch, the global A-Class appears tailor-made to lure buyers away from other brands.

We’ve known the new sedan — which uses an updated version of the modular MFA platform underpinning the CLA and other front-drive Benz products — had a global market in mind, but the word from this month’s dealer convention in Miami is the first unofficial confirmation of the model’s U.S. future. (The automaker is remaining silent.) Dealers in attendance were reportedly shown images of the real thing. For now, we’ll have to be content to imagine the brand’s A-Class concept, seen above, in production guise.

While early reports suggested the A-Class would snu g gle up between the CLA and rear-drive C-Class in terms of pricing and status, that doesn’t appear to be the case. No, this will be the brand’s new entry-level model, the dealers claim. What does that mean for price? Potentially, a starting MSRP below the magical $30,000 mark.

If Benz pulls it off, shoppers who had no intention of looking at premium brands might just find themselves considering a Mercedes-Benz. And, once in, those buyers might decide to stay with the brand as their income — and family — grows.

“It just gives us another opportunity to bring that youthful buyer in and have them grow up with the brand,” Jeff Aiosa, a New London, Connecticut dealer, told Automotive News. “It looked like it would be very appealing to the millennial buyer.”

Mercedes-Benz is expected to offer the A-Class in a wide range of flavours, from entry-level to hybrid to a snarling AMG variant. While consumers are increasingly turning away from traditional passenger cars, Mercedes clearly sees the opportunity for conquest sales — rivals BMW and Audi being the most obvious target.

The model is expected to appear in September 2018 as a 2019 model.

[Image: Daimler AG]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Whitworth Whitworth on Jun 19, 2017

    Sort of like a $500 Rolex. Eventually people stop finding a reason to pay the premium when everyone can afford it. It doesn't really matter to me, I'm not a Mercedes fan, but watching it from the sidelines, it's just going to further diminish the brand when it's not much more than a Civic or Corolla.

  • Adiai Adiai on Jun 20, 2017

    Get ’em young and get ’em poor upwardly mobile. That seems to be Mercedes-Benz’s rationale behind the upcoming A-Class sedan, which should arrive in the U.S. later next year OR CONSIDERING THE TERRIBLE RELIABILITY OF MERCEDES BENZ VEHICLES (ITS EVEN FAR BELOW HYUNDAI NOW), THEY MAY NEVER BUY ANOTHER MERCEDES AGAIN.....

  • Syke Kinda liked the '57, hated the '58. Then again, I hated the entire '58 GM line except for the Chevrolet. Which I liked better than the '57's. Still remember dad's '58 Impala hardtop, in the silver blue that was used as the main advertising color.
  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • Ravenuer The rear view of the Eldo coupe makes it look fat!
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
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