Mercedes fixes CLA’s rapid charging problem – but at a price

Mercedes has confirmed its new CLA will be able to use most public chargers in the UK from next year, after the car launched with severely limited access.

However, the technical fix won’t be free and drivers will have to specify its inclusion when they order the car.

When it revealed the CLA, Mercedes announced that its new compact saloon would charge at a remarkable 320kW at compatible ultra-rapid devices. However, it also revealed that the car was only compatible with the latest and fastest 800V chargers.

In the UK, most chargers, even many offer ultra-rapid speeds of up to 250kW are 400V, meaning they were off-limits to the CLA and its Shooting Brake sibling.

Now, Mercedes has confirmed that it will offer a “direct current charging system” for the CLA that will allow it to function with any 400V chargers.

However this DC-DC converter will be an £850 option and will only be available on cars ordered from spring 2026. It also won’t be able to be retrofitted, so anyone who has taken delivery of a CLA since May this year or orders one now will be stuck seeking out 800V chargers.

Earlier this year, Mercedes told EV Powered that the omission of a standard on-board converter reflected the brand’s focus on high-power charging infrastructure, and noted: “the share of 800-volt DC fast-charging stations in the entire charging network is constantly increasing”.

It also noted that the CLA’s onboard smart route planning would only ever direct drivers to 800V chargers compatible with the car.

However, other cars which use an 800V architecture, such as the Kia EV9, Porsche Taycan and Audi A6 e-tron all come with a converter as standard to allow them to function at any public charger.