Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Why did Mercedes-Benz develop the CLA? To attract new customers with a significant and stylish 4-
door coupe that meets the needs of today’s urban and suburban luxury customer. We want to attract
these groups to the brand because we feel they have never considered Mercedes-Benz in the past.
What is the base price that was advertised during the 2013 Super Bowl? USD $29,900 excluding
the model year 2014 destination charge of $925 (MY13 is $905). The MSRP for the CLA45 AMG is
$47,450 (excluding MY14 D&D $925).
Doesn’t a smaller and less expensive car dilute the Mercedes-Benz brand? The Mercedes-Benz
brand has never been positioned higher than it has today, with more cars in more segments vs. our
competitors that are priced over USD $100k and even $200k. We believe that the brand’s strengths
allow it to also expand toward younger and younger-at-heart customers who may never have
considered Mercedes-Benz in the past.
The CLA seems to overlap C-Class in size and price territory – how does this affect the
positioning? The CLA actually is positioned differently than the C-Class and costs nearly $5,500 less
than the C250 sedan (which starts at $35,325). The CLA has a clear and sporty point of view as the
smaller sibling of the CLS 4-door coupe, with key elements including a distinctive and eye-catching
exterior, sporty handling, sporty interior content such as standard sport seats and overall environment
that is exciting and fun to drive, overall authenticity, and a having connectivity such as mbrace2.
Finally, the CLA has a very honest pricing structure that has a much smaller bandwidth of possible
options with a typical equipment level of around USD $35,000.
It doesn’t seem possible that you are earning money with the CLA250 – how is it possible to
achieve a price of USD $29,900 excluding destination charge of $925 (for MY2014). The business
case for the CLA is positive globally (including the USA) mostly because of economies of scale for the
NGCC (‘New Generation Compact Cars’) platform: we have five cars based on this platform with a high
corresponding overall volume. Furthermore it was designed to only have four-cylinder engines (instead
of C-Class’s 4 cyl, V6 or AMG V8 offerings), making crashworthiness development simpler and more
efficient. The car is also produced in Hungary, which also further helps making the price proposition
positive.
What do you consider as success for the CLA and what are your projected sales numbers? We
consider the CLA a success if it is accepted by the intended customers that are younger and younger-
at-heart. While we don’t share projected sales goals, we believe we have a simple yet effective lineup
of CLA250, CLA250 4MATIC, and CLA45 AMG that will capture many hearts and minds.
