Reports have surfaced online indicating that the upcoming new generation Mercedes-Benz CLA compact saloon is set to see combustion (ICE)-powered variants adopt engines supplied by Horse Powertrain.
As a refresher, Horse Powertrain is an engine-making joint-venture established by China’s Geely and France’s Renault, with both automakers holding equal 50:50 shares in which. Notable too is thew fact that Geely CEO Li Shufu owns a 10% stake in Mercedes-Benz, and that the Chinese firm has a joint-venture with the three-point star through the smart Automobile brand.
Back to the powertrain supply deal, reports indicate that Horse will supply Mercedes-Benz with a 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbocharged petrol mill that boasts respectable outputs of 250 HP and 360 NM. While the actual engine itself is manufactured in China, catalytic converters for which won’t be installed until the engines arrive in Germany to comply with emissions regulations.
Moreover, the same source also adds that the 4-cyl mill could also be paired with a 48-volt mild hybrid (MHEV) system, specifically an integrated starter generator (ISG) primed directly into the transmission – a typical trait found in most current-gen Mercedes-Benz offerings. This tech is poised to deliver smoother and more efficient driving abilities into the mix too.
Though this transcontinental production process may appear slightly convoluted, it is a perfect reflection of the industry’s increasingly globalised nature of automotive engineering. Moreover, the engine won’t be the only Chinese-sourced or -supplied item in the upcoming CLA.
That’s because much of the upcoming new model’s advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features are also being developed by Chinese tech start-up Momenta – a firm supported and backed by Mercedes-Benz since it was established back in 2017.
Besides the three-point star, Momenta also received investments from other automakers such as General Motors (GM) and SAIC (owners of MG), as well as the Jack Ma-led Yunfeng Capital investment firm.
Apart from ICE variants, the next generation Mercedes-Benz CLA is also set to see all-electric (EV) twins available alongside that harnesses an 800-volt architecture. Naturally, high-performance specials from the Mercedes-AMG performance skunkworks are also in the pipelines.
Source: CarNewsChina
