Mercedes CLA and GLC: High Demand Leads to Months-Long Wait Times

Mercedes is experiencing a major demand surge for its new electric models, specifically the fully electric CLA and the electric GLC. Both vehicles currently face a wait time of around six months, meaning customers ordering a custom configuration now will have to wait until April 2027.

To keep up with traction battery supply, the battery plant in Kamenz has been operating six days a week in a three-shift system since June, running around the clock to meet demand. The electric CLA has seen particularly strong numbers since its market launch in September 2025, recording over 71,000 registrations in Europe according to Dataforce data, averaging 5,400 vehicles per month—well above the previous combustion-engine generation’s average of about 3,500 registrations between 2021 and 2024.

Overall electric vehicle sales at Mercedes have also climbed significantly. In the third quarter of 2026, the Mercedes-Benz Group sold 78,100 BEVs, marking a 24 percent increase over the second quarter and a 52 percent increase year-over-year.

The passenger car segment’s electric share rose from 9.6 percent in the second quarter of 2025 to 16.8 percent, meaning roughly one in every six new Mercedes passenger cars featured an electric powertrain. Head of Sales Mathias Geisen highlighted the strongest quarterly sales of fully electric vehicles in company history, noting that the electric GLC saw strong growth compared to the second quarter.

Furthermore, new electric models including the GLC, CLA, GLB, and GLA are sold out in Europe for the rest of the year, with order books already extending into 2027. While initial production of the electric GLC in Bremen faced component shortages, operations have since stabilized.

In September, both the CLA and GLC cracked the top 10 electric vehicles in Germany with over 2,000 new registrations each, while the GLC reached nearly 7,400 new registrations across Europe in September. Additional electric variants of the C-Class, GLA, and GLB are rolling out, and insider reports indicate more EVs are on the horizon in coming years, including a fully electric E-Class slated for the 2027 IAA and an electric A-Class in 2028.