Mercedes USA Fears Short Supply of GLA-Class

2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class (Credit: © Mercedes-Benz)

It is no mystery that Americans love small crossover vehicles. Despite questionable usefulness, they continue to be a huge fad over here. This is doubly true when it comes to luxurious, compact crossovers. Just see how many Q3s and X1s out on the streets for a little evidence, and you’ll realize just how popular they really are.

Well, Mercedes-Benz has been working hard on its own compact, luxo crossover in the GLA-Class, and it has drummed up some serious interest not only in America, but around the entire world. According to Automotive News’ interview with Mercedes-Benz North America CEO, Steve Cannon, Mercedes still hasn’t released its American allocation yet, but with growing interest in China and Europe, the GLA-Class is likely to see a shortage as bad as, or maybe worse than the CLA-Class has seen here in the U.S.

If you haven’t noticed, the CLA-Class is one of the hardest mass-produced Mercedes vehicles to get your paws on these day. This shortage has resulted in CLA prices heading upward and the chances of getting one for MSRP being nearly impossible. If this report proves to be accurate, you can expect the same trend from the GLA-Class.

In the U.S., the GLA-Class will come in only two flavors, with the base model being the GLA250 that has a 208-horsepower, 2.0-liter engine and carries an MSRP of $34,2225. The other version is the hot GLA45 AMG, which makes use of an AMG-massaged 2.0-liter engine that puts down 355 ponies. The AMG variant will check in at $49,225.