The Electric Mercedes GLA Lands With 657 km of Range and 320 kW Charging

Mercedes-Benz has revealed the third-generation GLA, and it arrives as an electric car first. The compact SUV replaces the EQA in the line-up, opens orders on 30 July 2026 with deliveries from November, and gets combustion-hybrid variants only in early 2027 — an inversion of the usual order that says a good deal about where Mercedes now expects volume in Europe.

800 volts in the compact class

The GLA sits on the 800-volt architecture Mercedes introduced with the electric CLA and then carried into the electric GLB. That is the headline engineering point, because it is what makes the charging figures possible: the GLA 250+ and GLA 350 4MATIC draw up to 320 kW at an 800-volt charger and go from 10% to 80% in 22 minutes.

Two batteries are offered. The entry-level GLA 200 uses a 58 kWh LFP pack, while the GLA 250+ and GLA 350 4MATIC step up to an 85 kWh NMC pack. Mercedes quotes up to 657 km of range for the larger-battery cars.

Pricing in Germany

How it stacks up against the Model Y

The GLA is smaller than a Model Y and priced against it rather than under it, so this is not a repeat of the Xpeng L03 undercutting the Model Y from EUR 34,990. What the GLA does bring is a charging spec that beats Tesla's current European numbers on peak power, and it does so in a segment where Mercedes already has dealer coverage and residual-value strength.

The caveat is the one that applies to every 800-volt car in Europe: 320 kW is only reachable at chargers that can deliver it. On a typical 150 kW to 250 kW site — still the bulk of European DC capacity — the practical gap between the GLA and a Model Y narrows considerably. Tesla's advantage remains the Supercharger network's consistency rather than its headline peak.

Why it matters for the EU market

Compact premium SUVs are the segment where Tesla's European volume actually lives, and it is now getting crowded from both directions: Chinese entrants below on price, and a re-armed Mercedes above on charging speed and range. Replacing the EQA — a car widely seen as a converted combustion platform — with a purpose-built 800-volt design removes the most common technical criticism of Mercedes' previous compact EV.

For buyers, the more useful takeaway is that 650 km-plus WLTP range and sub-25-minute charging stops are no longer a large-car privilege. That was the practical case for stepping up a class in Europe, and in this segment it has largely closed.

Range figures are WLTP and, as always, describe a best case rather than a motorway average. Independent testing will settle how much of the 657 km survives real-world use, and whether the 58 kWh entry car has enough range to be the volume seller Mercedes needs it to be.