There's a Chinese factory hiding under the hood of Mercedes-Benz's newest German icon. Mercedes-Benz has started fitting the hybrid versions of the new CLA with a petrol engine, the M252, that's actually built in China. It's a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder running as part of a 48-volt system. The automaker itself calls it a new development for the model family built on the MMA platform.
And here's where things get interesting — where this engine really comes from. Mercedes-Benz defined the architecture, the engineering requirements and the tuning of the engine, but its industrial production is organized in China with Aurobay, a company tied to Geely's engine business. So is this just a “Geely engine”? No. Calling the M252 that would be wrong: it's a Mercedes unit, manufactured by an outside partner to standards set by the German company. A fine distinction, but a crucial one.
The M252 runs on the Miller cycle and pairs with an electric motor built into the transmission. Output from the combustion engine varies by version, while the electric side helps with acceleration and cuts fuel consumption. Mercedes stresses that the new hybrid engine was designed to be a compact, efficient unit for its next-generation models.
Chinese assembly isn't a death sentence for quality, whatever the comment sections might say. Reliability comes down to design, suppliers, tolerances, assembly control and how the car is actually driven — not the stamp on the factory floor. Chinese plants have long been part of Mercedes's global production network: the brand's joint venture in Beijing has been building cars and engines since 2013.
Here's the catch, though: it's simply too early to judge the M252's long-term durability. The engine is brand new, so there's no mass of high-mileage data yet. For buyers right now, the country of assembly matters less than the warranty terms, service costs and how the unit holds up after a few years on the road. Only time will answer that one.
Earlier, it was reported that Mercedes-Benz brought together 30 years of Actros history at the Nürburgring.
