Summary
Mercedes-Benz has started serial production of the new GLA at its Rastatt plant in Germany. Electric versions are already being built, while 48V hybrid versions are scheduled to follow later in 2026 on the same flexible production line.
Mercedes-Benz has started serial production of the new GLA at its Rastatt plant in Germany, the company announced on 17 September 2026. Production of the fully electric versions is already under way, while GLA models using 48-volt hybrid technology and a new combustion engine are scheduled to follow later this year.
The new GLA is being built on a flexible line that can handle fully electric, hybrid and conventionally powered vehicles. Mercedes-Benz says this arrangement allows the plant to adjust production more quickly to demand in different global markets.
One production line for different powertrains
Rastatt has produced vehicles since 1992 and employs around 7,000 people, according to Mercedes-Benz. The plant is a manufacturing centre for the company’s compact vehicles and is now producing another model from its latest vehicle generation.
The GLA is currently being assembled in assembly hall 4.0. Mercedes-Benz is investing a low three-digit-million amount to convert the neighbouring hall 4.1. Production of the model in that hall is planned to begin in 2027.
The company says the investment is intended to preserve the plant’s ability to manufacture different types of powertrain within the same production environment. That is significant as automakers manage demand across battery-electric, hybrid and combustion-engine vehicles rather than dedicating every factory to a single drivetrain.
Digital twins and software in the factory
The planned conversion of hall 4.1 will use a digital twin: a high-precision digital simulation of the production line and its operating conditions. Mercedes-Benz says the virtual model is used to configure and optimise the line before the physical conversion, creating potential to reduce construction time and costs.
The company also points to the 2023 conversion of hall 4.0, where it says use of the digital twin helped achieve a record construction time. That result is a Mercedes-Benz-reported production claim rather than an independently measured benchmark in the announcement.
Artificial intelligence, the company’s MO360 production ecosystem and the Mercedes-Benz Operating System, or MB.OS, are described as integrated parts of the Rastatt production setup. Mercedes-Benz says MB.OS uses a chip-to-cloud architecture in which vehicle software is transferred through a central server in the Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud rather than through multiple hardware modules. The stated aim is for vehicles to leave the production line with current software.
Components supplied across Germany
The Rastatt production launch is supported by several Mercedes-Benz sites in Germany. Electric drive units and axles for the GLA come from the Untertürkheim plant and its Mettingen and Hedelfingen operations. The drive unit combines an electric motor, power electronics and a transmission section, with additional control and power-transfer components produced and assembled within that network.
High-voltage batteries come from Accumotive, Mercedes-Benz’s subsidiary in Kamenz, Saxony. The company describes Accumotive as part of its global battery-production network and says the site has 13 years of experience producing complex battery systems.
Rastatt also receives body-in-white, structural and body components from the nearby Kuppenheim site, around 10 kilometres away. Kuppenheim became organisationally part of the Rastatt plant at the beginning of 2026.
The production start therefore represents more than the addition of one vehicle to a factory schedule. It combines a mixed-powertrain manufacturing line with simulated factory planning, connected vehicle software and a supply network spanning several Mercedes-Benz facilities. The company says the approach strengthens Rastatt’s role in its global production network.