Mercedes-Benz A-Class to return

Just days after it was announced that the 2026 Mercedes-Benz A-Class was set to end production late next year without a successor in sight, fresh reports suggest the German car-maker has had a sudden change of heart. The small entry hatch will now return as an all-new model that will be spun off the brand's advanced CLA sedan, with the BMW 1 Series rival set to be offered with both all-electric and mild-hybrid power for the first time.

Mercedes-Benz's cost-cutting exercise where it planned to streamline its number of model lines from seven to four, appears to have been abandoned, with bosses now keen for the Mercedes A-Class to live on for at least one more generation, according to Autocar.

The fifth-gen hatch will now be developed alongside the inbound GLA SUV, with both sharing the latest CLA sedan's all-new flexible MMA architecture.

Like the small four-door coupe, the A-Class will come with the option of either battery-electric or mild-hybrid combustion powertrains.

Saving costs, the A-Class and GLA could be visually similar, mirroring the first-generation GLA, which was a jacked-up, more rugged version of the third-generation A-Class.

In total, the MMA family will now consist of the CLA sedan, CLA Shooting Brake, GLA and larger GLB, and now the A-Class.

There's no word if the A-Class sedan will live on.

To keep the nameplate alive, Mercedes will release a concept for the A-Class shortly after production ends late next year, but there may still be a gap between when the new generation model arrives in 2028.

The news the Mercedes A-Class will now live on suggests a radical rethink behind the scenes at Benz that originally declared it would transition to selling more expensive vehicles with higher profit margins.

There's no word on the reason for the switch back from high-profit to higher volumes business model but it's thought that bosses were under pressure from its global dealers to not kill off one of its most popular models.

The pursuit of luxury has also seen a drop in Benz's market share in some markets, which has caused upset among senior execs, driving pressure for a big rethink.

In Australia, sales of the aging seven-year-old A-Class range in the first eight months of 2025 dropped by 12 per cent to 1329 units, but the small hatch still outsold the BMW 1 Series (1173) with it remaining the brand's fourth best-selling model after the GLC, GLE and GLA SUVs.

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