Did Mercedes-Benz Hint At The A-Class Sedan?


Carefully tucked inside the text that accompanies the 'Aesthetics A' sculpture, which previews the design language of its entire family of compact models, seems to be a general reference to the rumored A-Class-based sedan: "the design team now presents the vision of a saloon car in the compact segment". 

Not to be confused with the successor to the sportier CLA saloon, the A-Class sedan will more directly rival BMW's China-only 1-Series sedan and Audi's A3 sedan. It will be based on the MFA2 platform, shared with the next generations A-Class, B-Class, CLA and GLA and is expected to join the family in a standard wheelbase for select global markets, which won't include North America, and a long wheelbase, aimed exclusively at China. 

It was recently reported that Mercedes-Benz will preview the A-Class sedan with a concept model at this year's Shanghai Auto Show in China. 

Also rumored to join the Mercedes compact family is another compact SUV, which will be positioned on top of the GLA and offered in two wheelbase lengths, with 5 and 7 seats. With a more rugged design inspired by the G-Class, it will probably adopt the GLB moniker, which was trademarked by the Germans last year. 

There's a third model tipped to complete the lineup, but details on it remain scarce, with some sources pointing towards a two-door Shooting Brake variant of the next generation A-Class, believed to compete against the Volkswagen Scirocco. 

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