Mercedes to Boost CLA-Class Supply to US Dealers

You might have walked away disappointed after visiting a Mercedes-Benz dealership recently if the trip was based on bringing home a new CLA-Class.

Customers are currently facing a wait time that, in some cases, is lasting months for the new attainably-priced car from the tri-point star brand. Currently the company offers three versions to customers in the U.S. market: the CLA 250, CLA 250 4Matic and the CLA 45 AMG. Demand for the trio of front-wheel drive based four-doors drove Mercedes Benz USA to a 10-day supply at certain points since the vehicle’s introduction almost a year ago. Now the company is increasing its allocation to American showrooms, hoping to sate its customers before they start looking elsewhere.

Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told Automotive News that the company plans to ramp up its supply to the U.S. While he didn’t offer a specific number for the increase, he told the publication that Mercedes could have sold twice as many copies of the CLA were it not for supply constraints.

Sales of the Mercedes model tapered off after the initial supply sold out. Meanwhile, the newly sedan-shaped Audi A3 is offering direct competition to the CLA and through

Based on Volkswagen’s MQB modular platform, Audi’s new A3 seeks to woo younger customers to the brand in much the same way that Mercedes is appealing to a new demographic with the CLA. Previous generations of the Audi were sold as hatchbacks, but the new car is being marketed as small sedan. Through August, Mercedes sold 15,676 CLAs compared to 12,329 A3s for Audi, but unless Mercedes is quick to correct its supply struggles that probably won’t continue to be true.

The new A3 began reaching dealers in the first quarter of the year, but it wasn’t until April when supplies hit their full stride. Since then, Audi generally outpaced CLA sales with an average of 2,269 sales per month ignoring February and March when the car wasn’t completely rolled out. Mercedes launched the CLA in late 2013 and from January through August sold an average 1,959 CLA-Class sedans.