Mercedes-Benz is launching the next stage of automotive manufacturing with the production of the new CLA in the Rastatt plant. With the integration of artificial intelligence, the digital twin and, for the first time, the Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MB.OS) into the MO360 digital production ecosystem, the company is consistently implementing its “Digital First” approach.
Several German Mercedes-Benz sites supply the Rastatt plant, where the new electric CLA will initially roll off the production line. Electric drive units and axles come from the Stuttgart-Untertürkheim plant and bodyshell components, structural and body parts from Kuppenheim. The batteries are built in Kamenz.
In line with the Mercedes-Benz business plan, the company has invested a mid triple-digit million euros amount in the production of the new model in Rastatt. Following the gradual ramp-up, Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd (BBAC) will also build the CLA, including the batteries and electric drive units, for the Chinese market.
In the production network with the Hungarian Mercedes-Benz plant in Kecskemét, further models of the new vehicle family will follow after the start of CLA production. The batteries for production in Kecskemét come from the company’s own battery factory. The electric drive units for this come from the subsidiary plant in Sebes, Romania.
Production at the Rastatt plant is fundamentally drive-flexible – hybrid and fully electric vehicles roll off the same production line as vehicles with conventional drive systems. The ramp-up of the CLA in Rastatt was preceded by the extensive remodelling of an existing assembly hall in record time. In preparation for the production of the next-generation model, the plant simulated the conversion of the hall virtually, acting as a pioneer of the “Digital First” approach in the Mercedes-Benz global production network.
Within just a few weeks, a new production line was configured and optimised in Hall 4.0 with the help of high-precision digital simulation techniques, allowing for considerable efficiency gains to be realised in terms of construction time and costs. Furthermore, the Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MB.OS) is being used for the first time in series production of the new CLA. This chip-to-cloud architecture enables the vehicle software to be transferred via a central Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud server instead of via various hardware modules. Rastatt thus serves as a blueprint for the global roll-out of MB.OS in all Mercedes-Benz vehicle plants.
The plant has also pioneered the use of AI-controlled process engineering in the top coat booths. By monitoring relevant sub-processes using AI instead of conventional control systems, it was possible to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent and significantly shorten the ramp-up time of the process.
The Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt started production in 1992. With around 6,000 employees, it is the largest employer in the region. The A-Class and B-Class as well as the compact SUV GLA and the all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQA are built at the Rastatt plant. With combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, Rastatt production covers the entire range of modern drive technologies.
Production in Rastatt is carbon-neutral, as at all locations in the Mercedes-Benz production network]. The plant is supplied with 100 percent green electricity – from the company’s own solar systems and external green electricity supplies. Up to 8 megawatt peak (MWp) of solar energy can be generated with the solar modules in Rastatt. When integrating the new model into existing production, a number of measures were also implemented to reduce energy consumption.
A new generation of energy-saving robots in bodywork construction, heat recovery in ventilation systems and the introduction of modern and intelligent lighting control systems are just a few examples. Energy consumption in production has been reduced by more than 15 GWh per year compared to the previous model. As part of a partnership with the German Cleantech company CMBlu Energy AG, the first organic solid-flow battery storage system with a capacity of around 11 MWh is to be built at the Rastatt plant – the technology offers great potential in terms of scalability and sustainability.
Circularity also plays an important role in the production of the new CLA. The nearby Mercedes-Benz plant in Kuppenheim completes the cycle by recycling steel and aluminium scrap. Mercedes-Benz is also focussing on reducing emissions in logistics. Finished vehicles from Rastatt are transported 600 kilometres from Rastatt to Zeebrugge in electric lorries by the partner company Galliker. With the inauguration of the new International Consolidation Centre (ICC) in Bischweier at the end of May, a state-of-the-art logistics centre for Mercedes-Benz began operations. The ICC is a hub for supplying the Rastatt and Kuppenheim plants.
Untertürkheim: Tradition and innovation for the CLA’s electric drive units and axles
The electric drive units and axles of the new CLA are produced at the Untertürkheim site with its Mettingen and Hedelfingen plants. A drive unit essentially consists of three subsystems: an electric motor, power electronics and the gear unit for power transmission. The power-transmitting wheelset and other components such as the control unit will in future be manufactured in Untertürkheim, Mettingen and Hedelfingen. The assembly of these components into a complete system takes place at the Untertürkheim plant. Mettingen is also responsible for the assembly of the electric axles for the CLA, which are delivered as a complete system to the Rastatt plant around 70 kilometres away.
The Stuttgart-Untertürkheim site, which celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2024, extends over several plant sections in the Stuttgart area along the Neckar valley. More than 2 million products – engines, transmissions, axles, components and batteries – leave the plant every year to be installed in a wide variety of vehicles at production sites in three continents.
Kamenz: 13 years of expertise for the lithium-ion batteries of the new CLA
The high-voltage batteries for the new CLA come from the Mercedes-Benz subsidiary Accumotive in Kamenz, Saxony. Local battery production is a key success factor for the Mercedes-Benz strategy. Accumotive has 13 years of experience in the efficient production of highly complex battery systems and acts as a centre of excellence within the global battery production network, which includes sites in three continents.
Accumotive GmbH & Co KG in Kamenz, Saxony, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG. The site has two battery factories totalling around 80,000 m² and has been producing battery systems for Mercedes-Benz vehicles since 2012. Since the start of production, more than two million batteries have already been produced at the Kamenz site.
Kuppenheim: Bodyshell, presses and battery recycling factory
The Kuppenheim plant, around 10 kilometres away, has been supplying the Rastatt plant with bodyshell components, structural and body parts since 2009, now also for the new electric CLA. Last year, the Mercedes-Benz battery recycling factory, the first with mechanical-hydrometallurgical technology in Europe, opened on the site.
