Electrifying future ahead for the Mercedes A-Class

Electrified variants of the new Mercedes A-Class are in the pipeline, according to one of the chief developers of the car.

Head of power train development for the A-Class, Oliver Ebelsheiser, confirmed the hatchback will soon have a version with some form of battery propulsion.

He said: “We have announced that we will have electrical vehicles in each and every platform in the future. This includes the new compact car platform, meaning it will have an electrified variant.”

Ebelsheiser also suggested both hybrid and all-electric versions of the car were under consideration, with the former more likely to come before the latter. He added: “We are thinking about both, but hybrid definitely makes sense as there are rivals out there with hybrids in that vehicle range. We will have the same.”

Mercedes-Benz currently offers a number of hybrid options across its range – such as on the C-Class, E-Class and S-Class – while its stablemate brand Smart offers all-electric variants of the ForTwo and ForFour city cars.

The firm also revealed the Concept EQA at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, previewing an all-electric hatchback packed with tech.

The new Mercedes A-Class is also launching with one diesel engine, and despite the ongoing war against diesel, Ebelsheiser is confident more black-pump versions appear in the future.

He said: “With the predecessor vehicle, diesel proved very popular and key to its success, so it makes sense to expand our diesel range in the future with the new car.”

Ebelsheiser did accept that development of diesel and petrol power trains is proving harder as a result of stricter emissions tests.

He said: “There’s always that same challenge, and it’s getting harder and harder because of emissions regulations – plus the steps you can make are becoming smaller.”

The new Mercedes A-Class is due to get some form of battery propulsion.