Mercedes was building up to a grand entrance. The effect collapsed a few hours before the curtain. The new GLA leaked online on the eve of its world premiere — and the livestream is now left to confirm what everyone has already seen. It starts today, 29 July, at 7:30 PM CEST. And here is what matters: only the reveal itself is confirmed. Mercedes has not published a single technical figure.
The leaked image shows a big grille, lighting graphics made of three-pointed stars and a noticeably smoother silhouette. It looks like the electric version — the centre of the nose is fully closed. Looks like, and nothing more. The manufacturer has confirmed neither the authenticity of the shot nor the variant it shows.
This is where it gets interesting. A Spanish outlet confidently hands the GLA the hardware of its GLB sibling: an 85 kWh battery, 272 or 354 hp, charging at up to 320 kW and around 630 km of range. It sounds great. It is also extrapolation, not a specification for the new crossover.
And the extrapolation comes with a mistake. That report calls the 250+ front-wheel drive, yet the production electric GLB 250+ carries its single motor at the rear: 272 hp and up to 632 km on the WLTP cycle. The all-wheel-drive GLB 350 4MATIC with two motors delivers 354 hp and covers up to 616 km. Both senior versions go from 10 to 80% in roughly 22 minutes at a 320 kW peak.
The list of unconfirmed items does not end there: an entry battery of 64 kWh, a 231 hp motor, a future AMG. For comparison, the real entry-level version of the new GLB got a 58 kWh battery and a rear motor with 224 hp — not the 64 kWh and 231 hp pairing from that publication. The fate of the EQA badge is a separate intrigue: Mercedes has announced no farewell, but the GLB has already walked this path, leaving the name to the combustion versions and handing the electric one the EQ suffix.
The conclusion is simple. The leak revealed a face and almost nothing about the car. The real test comes tonight, when Mercedes names the dimensions, the drivetrains, the batteries, the range and the on-sale timing. Only hours to go.
