The slowest-selling member of Mercedes-Benz's family of petrol-powered small cars has reached the end of the line.
The Mercedes-Benz A-Class sedan is no longer available to factory order in Australia and Germany as the car giant prepares to drop it from the line-up without a successor.
Mercedes-Benz is preparing to roll out a new generation of so-called 'compact cars', which will comprise four models – down from seven today.
On the chopping block is the entire A-Class line, the hatch and the sedan – the latter available in two versions, the standard-wheelbase sold in Australia, Europe and the US, and the long-wheelbase model offered in China – plus the taller B-Class hatch.
It will leave the GLA and GLB SUVs, alongside the CLA sedan and Europe-focused CLA Shooting Brake wagon as the sole members of the family – with petrol and electric power – due to be unveiled from next month onwards.
Factory orders for the A-Class sedan have ended in Australia, a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson told Drive, through stock remains in dealers across the country for customers to purchase.
It has been the slowest-selling member of the 'compact' Mercedes-Benz family still on sale in Australia, with 715 reported as sold last year – or 36 per cent of A-Class sales, alongside 1282 hatchbacks.
In comparison, the brand last year sold 757 CLA sedans, 3103 GLA small SUVs and 1243 GLB medium SUVs – the latter pair increasing to 4147 and 1747 deliveries respectively if their electric EQA and EQB counterparts are included.
Only the B-Class reported fewer sales in 2024 – just two examples – but it has not been in production for Australia for close to two years, as it was cut from the range in 2023.
The A-Class sedan arrived in Mercedes-Benz Australia showrooms in 2019, at a time when the car giant was looking to expand into every niche.
Since then, it has moved to more luxurious cars with higher prices, and begun trimming its line-up as it duplicates many of its key models with electric power.
The CLA and A-Class sedan were sold alongside one another with unique bodywork – and a sportier sloping roofline on the former not present on the latter – but they are closely related under the skin.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
