The Mercedes CLA has won the prestigious Car of the Year award. This is a first for the German manufacturer since 1974 and the Mercedes-Benz 450 S.
Unveiled on 9 January at the Brussels Motor Show, the Mercedes CLA was awarded the title of Car of the Year. With 320 points awarded by a jury of 59 members from 23 European countries, the model beat the Škoda Elroq, which scored 220 points, followed by the Kia EV4 with 208 points. Fourth place went to the Citroën C5 Aircross with 207 points, followed by the Fiat Grande Panda with 200 points. Sixth place went to the Dacia Bigster with 170 points and seventh to the Renault 4 with 150 points.
In the detailed voting results, it is worth noting that the Mercedes-Benz CLA was the model that received the most first-place votes from the judges, with 22, while the Citroën C5 Aircross was the favourite of 15 journalists on the jury. The third most popular model was the Fiat Grande Panda, with 9 first-place votes, followed by the Škoda Elroq with 8. The Kia EV4 was the car that received the highest marks from two jurors, while none of them chose the Renault 4 this year (which suffered from being the successor to last year’s winner, the Renault 5 E-Tech, and the 2024 winner, the Renault Scénic).
This accolade is no coincidence and says a lot about the current trend in the automotive market. Faced with an abundance of SUV-type vehicles with very similar designs and, in some cases, a strategy focused almost exclusively on electrification, the CLA marks a strategic turning point for Mercedes: electric and combustion engines are no longer competing with each other, but now coexist within the same range. With its new MMA platform, 800-volt architecture, ambitious electric range and integration of efficient hybrid engines, the CLA embodies the brand’s major technological choices for the next decade. This award, albeit symbolic, confirms Mercedes’ position as a key player in a rapidly changing European market.
It is worth noting that this is only the second time in the history of Mercedes-Benz and in the 62-year history of ‘The Car of the Year’ that the German manufacturer has won this trophy. The last time was in 1974 with the Mercedes-Benz 450 SE/SEL.
Finally, the CLA was also voted ‘Best-in-Class’ by Euro NCAP as the safest car in various safety tests in 2025.
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